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When Rest Is the Strategy?
Why resting might be the most responsible thing to do
Laura Balbo
August 21, 2025
Ever felt guilty for resting when your business isn’t “successful enough” to justify it?
Like every moment you pause, someone’s whispering: “Must be nice…”
Or worse — your own mind is.
Because if you're behind on bills…
If you’re struggling financially…
Then the answer must be more hustle.
More doing.
More fixing.
More figuring it out.
I used to think that too.
Honestly, when someone was struggling, I’d silently judge.
“Why don’t they just go get a job?”
I didn’t understand.
Until I was the one struggling — and God told me not to fix it.
To rest.
To stop.
To trust.
One of my favorite stories in Scripture is the Israelites in the wilderness. It’s packed with business wisdom and life principles, but there’s one verse that shifted everything for me:
“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
— Exodus 14:14 (NIV)
Most of us have heard it. But we miss the weight of it.
Right before God parts the Red Sea — after delivering Israel from slavery — He tells Moses to turn the people around. To backtrack. To camp at a dead end — narrow straights, two cliffs, sea in front.
Seriously?
They were finally free. Finally moving forward.
And God leads them… back?
Yeah.
Been there in business.
Then Pharaoh’s army shows up. Panic sets in.
And Moses speaks those words:
“The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still.”
These words from Moses aren’t just poetry — they’re survival instructions.
So let’s look deeper at what God was really saying.
What Does “Fight” Mean in Hebrew?
The word translated “fight” in Exodus 14:14 is יִלָּחֵם (yilachem) — from the root ל-ח-ם (lacham), which means to battle or to wage war.
But here’s what’s fascinating:
That exact same Hebrew root — ל-ח-ם — also gives us the word לֶחֶם (lechem), which means bread.
Same root. Two meanings.
Why?
Because in Hebrew, fighting and feeding are connected.
They’re both what a good father does:
He protects you. And He provides for you.
So when God says,
“I will fight for you,”
He’s also saying:
“I will feed you. I’ll cover your needs. I’ll care for you like only I can.”
What Does “Be Still” Really Mean?
The second half of that verse in Hebrew is:
וְאַתֶּם תַּחֲרִשׁוּן (ve’atem tacharishun)
The verb tacharishun comes from the root ח־ר־שׁ (charash), which can mean:
To be silent
To stop speaking
To be still
To plow or cut deep
It’s not passive.
It’s intentional.
It’s not quitting.
It’s yielding — your voice, your urge to fix, your need to be in motion.
Let’s look at the letters:
Chet (ח) — Protection, an enclosed space
Resh (ר) — The head, your thoughts
Shin (שׁ) — Teeth, pressure, consuming
Put together:
Come into a protected space. Calm your thoughts. Resist the urge to act out of pressure.
That’s what God commands.
“Be still — in your mind, in your mouth, in your movements.”
“Let Me — not you — be the One who moves this.”
What This Means for Business
You can be working hard — and still be out of alignment.
You can be producing — and still be resisting God’s way.
You can be striving to solve what God has asked you to release.
The business world teaches us:
Always move. Always push. Always grow.
But the Kingdom teaches something different:
Sometimes your greatest productivity… is trust.
Because stillness doesn’t mean doing nothing.
Stillness means not doing what God didn’t ask you to do.
He might ask you to pause.
To rest.
To stop fixing and start trusting.
And yes — it might feel irresponsible.
But it’s actually radical obedience.
“The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still.”
You can trust the One who battles and provides.
Lacham.
He’s both your bread and your shield.
So when rest feels like rebellion —
When the pressure says “do more” but the Spirit says “be still” —
Remember: it’s not always laziness.
Sometimes, it’s faith.
Reflection Questions:
Where am I striving to fix what God has asked me to release?
Have I confused movement with obedience?
Am I willing to trust that God will both fight and feed me?
Let Him lead.
Let Him protect.
Let Him provide.
Your job isn’t to force the miracle.
It’s to stay still long enough to witness it.