What’s the Right Amount of Rest?

What is the right amount of time to rest each day? Sometimes, after a full day of work, I come home to make dinner, clean the house, help kids with homework, or work in the garden. Other times, I come home and spend the evening talking and playing games with the family while the dishes sit on the counter. I know there’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, but do you have any Bible verses or wisdom to help me think through when to rest and when to fold that load of laundry?

Sometimes we ask spiritual questions in a worldly way. I do it too. We get caught up in all the microdecisions we’re making throughout the day. We don’t pause to get to the spiritual root of things.

We ask, “How many hours should I rest each day?” instead of  “What does God’s Word say about rest? Why did God instruct us to rest?”

We ask, “Should I fold this load of laundry or take a nap?” instead of “Am I being a good steward of what God has provided me with (my physical body and my home)?”

We ask, “Should I spend time with the kids or go to bed early?” instead of  “Am I connected with my kids in a way that stewards this parenthood opportunity well and allows for discipleship conversations?”

At the heart of your questions is a desire to live biblically while fulfilling the responsibilities God has blessed you with as a mother, a worker, and a keeper of a home. I wear those same responsibilities, and it helps me to start with looking at things through a biblical lens and then to prayerfully consider how those insights can guide me in making practical and creative daily choices that align with Scripture and with real life. So, let’s do that.

Biblical Insights About Rest

Rest is a compassionate directive from the Lord (Mark 2:27), not another item on our to-do list. God, as our Creator, knows what our bodies need. God doesn’t need rest in the same ways our imperfect and insufficient bodies do; still, he modeled rest after creating the world (Gen. 2:2–3).

Rest is a compassionate directive from the Lord, not another item on our to-do list.

Work is also a directive we see in Scripture. From the beginning, God placed Adam and Eve in the garden to “work it and keep it” (v. 15). Today, some of us work in office buildings, some on construction sites, some in a school, and some in the home. Work is part of God’s design, and it’s good. Paul even makes clear statements about the work ethic of Christians in his first letter to Timothy (1 Tim. 5:7–8).

All this to say, it’s good to rest and it’s good to work.

Practical Next Steps

Changing our question and bringing it before the Lord can illuminate the right decisions about rest versus work versus time with loved ones.

The first example you gave was of coming home after a day of work to an evening filled with making dinner, cleaning the house, helping kids with homework, or working in the garden. If we break down some of those responsibilities, we can prayerfully consider a few questions and practical or creative responses.

Preparing meals is a wonderful way to care for our families and to prompt connection around the dinner table. Are there ways to make the task less overwhelming by using slow-cooker meals, teaching kids to help or cook, or meal prepping some components in bulk before the week starts?

Housework is another way we can care for our family, steward the home God has provided, and maintain a comfortable space to host others. But are we maintaining a clean house, or are we obsessively trying to recreate what we see in Instagram posts and idolizing our living spaces? Are there ways to engage other family members in picking up? Could we declutter so we have less stuff to maintain? Are we striving for perfection when, most days, good enough will do?

Are we striving for perfection when, most days, good enough will do?

Time with kids is so important, especially in today’s culture where family relationships within the home aren’t always prioritized. Often, our question is less about “Should I play this board game / build this LEGO set / participate in this tea party?” and more about how we can cultivate positive relationships with our children and maintain connectedness as a family. We want to be close to our kids and to have abundant discipleship opportunities while they’re with us.

Could you engage kids in the tasks that need to be completed before playing a game so that the game can happen more quickly and, consequently, bedtime can be earlier? Can you model taking good care of yourself by cutting out and going to bed while siblings enjoy bonding time and you join in the next time?

Seek Wisdom and Keep Asking the Right Questions

You may have been seeking a response of “Christians should get X hours of rest per day.” Like most matters, this requires more discernment and wisdom.

Keep digging a few layers deeper with the questions you ask, and reach out to the Creator of wisdom in prayer. Ask God to guide you in any decisions around responsibilities you need to let go of or habits you need to implement. Lean not on your own strength to “get it all done” but on his wisdom in how to live biblically, care for your loved ones, and rest in him.