It’s true. Before leaving town, work that would have been done during the vacation week must be prepared. (Coincidentally, in my case this meant writing this very column.)

Someone must be found to baby-sit the dog and pick up the mail. Travel documents must be checked and luggage must be packed and repacked. Auto-reply e-mails have to be prepared and special outgoing phone messages should be set up.

And all this has to be taken care of during a normal work or home life week, which for most people is already packed full of activity and responsibility. America is no place for those who value rest. It seems there is always one thing more—or 25 things more—that could get done. Between work, church, family, pets and more work, life seems to pile itself on in heaping doses of to-do lists. Making rest a priority is relegated to times when we become weary or sick or are forced to slow down.

In the 1991 bestseller “The Overworked American,” economist Juliet Schor wrote that work hours and stress are up and sleep and family time are down for all classes of employed Americans. Schor argued that we live in “an economy and society that are demanding too much from people.” If anything, this problem has only intensified in the last 15 years.

As followers in the way of Jesus who are to be “in the world but not of it,” rest must regain priority in the rhythm and balance of life.

God’s creation process of this very world, the first recorded work, involved rest. And God likely did not rest because he was exhausted from all that making something from nothing. He rested to set an example for human beings that rest is a natural and necessary part of the rhythm of life. The message is that God made rest a priority and so should his followers.

The writer of Hebrews offers the same explanation, taking it so far as to say that not resting is exhibiting disobedience.

Hebrews 4:9-11 says, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.”

Even during his busy ministry here on earth, Jesus took time to rest and asked the disciples to join him. In Mark 6:31, Jesus said, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

There is much debate about what it means for Christians to keep the Sabbath, and any column I write is not likely to change deeply held opinions on the matter. But one thing all Christians can agree upon is that rest is demanded and evidenced in the Scriptures.

Often rest can only be accomplished by exhibiting faith in God’s provision. Being honest with ourselves that we will never accomplish everything on our own, and trusting that God will provide for our needs, can be a freeing and energizing act of worship and faith.