When is the last time you've actually had a real rest? Do you even remember what it means to rest? You know a time set aside to relax your mind and emotions from the busyness of work and ministry and from the stress of this world. A lot of health issues would be solved or prevented by taking a rest once in a while.

God is the initiator of rest, and He gave us a living example of what it means to rest. We read in the book of Genesis that God created the world in six days, and on the seventh day He rested and enjoyed the fruit of His labor. Rest is supposed to be pleasurable. If it's not, you need to take some time to prioritize your life and bring it back into balance.

Are you working too much? Is your work schedule having a negative effect upon your family life? If so you need to get a different job. You think to yourself, "I can't afford to get a different job." Well then, I suggest you downsize your lifestyle so you can afford to do so. Life wasn't created to be centered on houses, cars and other materialistic things; life is meant to be lived, centered on a relationship with God and shared with others. But all too often, God's people have become enslaved to a materialistic world or to a schedule that is destroying the very things they truly love.

I have been in ministry for nearly 25 years now, and I can tell you, the busyness of ministry will destroy you if you allow it to do so. Like most ministers, I had to learn how to set healthy boundaries. I can't tell you how many people have begged me or even tried to guilt me into giving out my phone number to them. I can't do it. I would never have a rest, and the end result would be catastrophe for my family, my ministry and for me. And that is just what the enemy would want. He wants you to burn the candle at both ends so you burn out, abandon what God has called you to do and/or die prematurely.

When the apostles came to tell Jesus all the exciting things that were going on in their daily lives, in their ministries, what did He tell them to do?

The apostles met with Jesus and told him everything, both what they had done and what they had taught. Then He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest a while," for many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.

So they went into a remote place privately by boat (Mark 6:30-32).

The fourth commandment tells us that we are to remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy. Regardless of the day you consider to be the Sabbath, take it, don't run around, but rest and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

The point is this: Rest is just as important to your well-being as eating healthy and exercising. And in order to rest properly, you need to set up boundaries in your life to protect you and your loved ones, and the longevity of your life, ministry or business. A time of rest is good–enjoy it.

Becky Dvorak is a prophetic healing evangelist and the author of DARE to Believe, Greater Than Magic and The Healing Creed. Visit her at authorbeckydvorak.com.

This article originally appeared at authorbeckydvorak.com.

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