When You Just Need Some Rest....

“He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams.” Psalm 23:2

I see a major theme in this verse. Rest. How many of us need it and don’t quite know where or how to access it? Let’s face it….life can seem like a rat race where we often feel like hamsters on wheels. Perpetual movement headed nowhere fast. Rest can seem elusive, playing hard-to-get while taunting us mercilessly as it continues to conceal itself from view. Rest appears to be something that is always just beyond our reach, accessible to others, but not to us.

We are parents with the responsibility of raising the next generation and we need rest. We are employees who work our fingers to the bone trying to make a living and a life and need rest. We are ministry leaders who continually pour into others and need rest. We are caretakers who are thinly stretched and in need of rest. Some are students struggling to find success and need rest. We are worriers who are stressed out and in need of rest. We are exhausted and anxious about tomorrow and in need of rest. We are emotionally depleted and in need of rest. We are broke and in need of rest. We are lonely and brokenhearted after much pursuit of what cannot fulfill us and are in need of rest. We don’t have the answers and would love some rest. We are tired of being tired and we just need a little rest.

It’s crazy how, after having run ourselves silly being everything to everyone, without accomplishing much at all, we find ourselves exhausted. We thought we knew exactly what to do, but all we actually accomplished was arriving at a state of weariness that is challenging to recover from. Weariness doesn’t just mean tired. Weariness soaks into your spirit like winter air does a house without a source of heat. Weariness touches every bone in your body and every nerve ending. Weariness decelerates the heartbeat of motivation and inspiration, slowing the lifeblood that powers your will to keep going. It’s like sludge, thick in oil that affects its ability to circulate in a motor. Weariness works on your desire to move forward. In the wake of weariness, you need rest.

Rest. A period of inactivity.  An intermission. Peace. Quiet. Refreshment. Relaxation. Repose. Silence. A mental or spiritual tranquility.

Rest follows activity. After all of the activity -- physical, mental, emotional, and even spiritual -- God promises to give us rest. A break. Breathing space. Calmness. Down time. Isn’t that AWESOME???

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 MSG

It’s simple. Stop whatever you’re doing and look up. God wants to give you rest.