Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Rest is not an option for all living things. We can try to stay away and keep going, but eventually our bodies will collapse. It may be after a few days, but it will happen. Even God rested on the 7th day. Just as our bodies need rest, so do our souls. Right now, with everything going on in the world, our hearts and minds might be overwhelmed with information overload. And trying to process all the information can become very wearisome. For some of, information overload may a part of daily work, so this is nothing new.
God wants us to find rest. He wants to relieve us of these burdens. He wants us to know he is willing to guard our hearts and minds. What does rest sound like to you? My thought goes toward a nice hot bath, bubbles, soft music, a glass of wine maybe. Or watching a TV show in your comfy pajamas with no one bothering you. Finding rest can be hard for some people. New moms don’t always have an extra 10 minutes for a shower much less 30 to relax in a hot bathtub with bubbles and candles. When my husband was at school or working late, there were many showers with the baby in her seat right outside my shower. Definitely no rest in that. I only get to watch TV by myself if I wake up at 5:00in the morning and get my Bible study and work out done, or do it at 8:30 at night after the kids go to bed. I’m saying these things to show that I know sometimes finding rest is hard. We are all in different phases of life with different responsibilities. This is not a one size fits all thing.
For some of us, if it’s hard to find actual time to rest physically, it’s hard to find times to rest spiritually. But Jesus wants us to come to him with our burdens. He wants us to take his yoke, because it is light. He wants us to know he is in control. So instead of trying to pull our cart ourselves in a road we have never been, let him be the driver. I have found that once I made time for God, it became easier to find rest. And I mean spiritual rest. With three kids I may not have physical rest until they are adults :-) And it is not just because I am a stay at home mom with no real job to go to. I have heard that thrown at me before. But that’s not a box I want to argue today. The more we desire to be closer to God, the easier it will be to see we do have time to rest in him. And once we begin that journey, we will find knots in our lives start to undo with his help, and we can feel more relaxed.
It does take a lot of faith to depend on God. But it sure does make life seem a little bit smoother having him be the driver in this crazy world. Draw near to God and find rest in him.
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Ada LeDoux
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