When God Tells You to Sit Down

When God Tells You to Sit Down

By Glennae Davis, RN

July 14th 2025

We call it exhaustion.God calls it instruction.

But too many nurses, especially Black women in healthcare, have been trained to override divine signals in the name of “showing up.” We’ve been rewarded for ignoring our own bodies. Decorated for pushing through the pain. Celebrated for self-sacrifice.

And then, when the body finally shuts down—when the blood pressure spikes, the chest tightens, the kidneys falter—we’re shocked.We call it a medical emergency.But what if it was a spiritual intervention?

📖 You Can’t Obey God and Ignore Your Body

Let me say this plainly:Your body is part of your calling.Not something separate from your purpose.Not something to silence with Advil or numb with work.

The same God who gave you the vision for your career also gave you a vessel. And that vessel has limits.

Symptoms are not weakness.They are revelation.

And many of us are walking past miracles because we refuse to sit down long enough to receive one.

💡 Sit Down Before You’re Sat Down

You don’t want to learn this the hard way.You don’t want to collapse at work and wake up in a hospital with people asking where your family is.You don’t want to be the one with 200 PTO hours and no liver function.You don’t want to make your rest God’s rescue project.

If you're hearing the whisper—“I can’t keep going like this…”That’s not a breakdown.That’s a boundary.

When God tells you to sit down, it’s not punishment.It’s preservation.

⚖️ The Assignment is Not to Break

We love to say, “To whom much is given, much is required.”But don’t forget: To whom much is sustained, much must be supported.

You weren’t called to do it all. You were called to do it well.And sometimes that requires rest, recovery, and a reset in perspective.

This isn’t about weakness. It’s about wisdom.

So, if your mind is racing but your spirit keeps saying “I’m tired,”listen.If you’re up before dawn and crashing after every shift,listen.If your prayers feel like survival chants instead of communion,listen.

It might not be burnout. It might be God asking you to sit down before He has to lay you down.

I do the work that I do hoping to rewrite these stories—giving God the glory, not medicine.