When Rest Feels Like Laziness: Grace for the Driven
INTRODUCTION: WHEN REST FEELS WRONG
The word "rest" can feel uncomfortable to those wired for high performance. It may sound like quitting or stepping off the gas—as if something valuable is being wasted. For the driven, rest can feel like a threat to momentum rather than a gift from God.
Growing up, I learned to earn—respect, results, approval. Rest wasn’t part of the formula. And even when I came to understand grace, I still wrestled with how to reconcile rest with the kind of drive that had always fueled my life.
If you’re wired to perform, to push, to produce—this is for you.
THE HORIZONTAL GRIND: WHY DRIVEN PEOPLE STRUGGLE
Let’s be clear: drive is not a flaw. It’s a gift. The desire to build, create, improve—it’s part of how we reflect the image of God. But for many of us, that strength turns into a burden when we confuse it with our identity.
We start to believe:
If I stop, I’ll fall behind.
If I rest, I’ll lose my edge.
If I’m not producing, I’m not valuable.
For those of us who thrive on the horizontal plane—measuring life by output, effort, and effectiveness—rest feels like death. Not physically, but emotionally. Existentially.
THE VERTICAL REALITY: REST ISN’T THE END OF WORK
But here’s what grace reveals: there’s another plane. A vertical one.
This is the plane where your worth is settled. Where your identity is not tied to what you do, but to what Jesus already did. It’s where the pressure lifts—not because you stopped caring—but because you finally stopped carrying.
“For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His.” — Hebrews 4:10
This isn’t passive. It’s powerful. Because only when you’re rooted vertically—in rest—can you burn brighter horizontally without burning out.
THE EXCHANGE: FROM STRIVING TO FLOWING
We see this contrast beautifully in the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38–42). Martha was busy—doing good things, serving, working. But Mary chose to sit at Jesus' feet and listen. While Martha was distracted by much serving, Mary was resting in His presence.
Jesus didn’t scold Martha for her effort—He simply said that Mary had chosen the better part. Not because doing is wrong, but because resting in Him is where true doing begins. It’s the only posture that leads to sustained peace and power. Grace didn’t make me lazy. In fact, it made me more alive, more productive, and more on fire than I’d ever been. But now, it’s not a hustle to prove something. It’s a response to everything I already have in Christ.
When rest becomes your starting point—not your reward—you’ll:
Work with peace instead of pressure.
Create from confidence, not insecurity.
Pursue excellence without fear of failure.
Jesus didn’t say, “Do more and you’ll find rest.” He said:
“Come to Me... and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28
That’s not a shutdown. That’s a transfer of weight.
MY STORY: GRACE FOR THE PERFORMER IN ME
For years, I measured myself by what I could produce. In ministry. In business. In life. I prided myself on being the guy who never stopped—who outworked the next person.
But that mindset also made me defensive. I saw “rest” as weakness. I bristled when someone said, “There’s nothing left to do.” Something inside me whispered, “Oh yeah? Watch me.”
Then grace found its way deeper.
I saw that my need to prove something came from believing something untrue: that I still had something left to earn. That I wasn’t quite enough yet.
But the cross changed that. Jesus didn’t just rescue me—He finished the work. And once I started from rest, I could finally run freely.
FINAL THOUGHT: REST LIGHTS THE FIRE
To the driven, the performers, the grinders: I get it. You don’t want to slow down. You’re wired to build.
But here’s the truth:
Rest isn’t the enemy of your fire. It’s the fuel.
You’ll do more from the peace of grace than you ever did under the pressure of performance.
So don’t be afraid to rest. Not because you’re lazy. But because Jesus already carried the weight. Now you get to run—and burn hotter than ever—without carrying the burden of trying to prove your worth.
