Rest for Your Soul
For the past three months, I’ve heard so much about the idea of rest. I’ve heard sermons, listened to podcasts, read devotions, scanned instagram captions, talked with friends all on the subject of rest. The more I think about it, I think God started this process in me almost 5 months ago. I guess I’m a slow learner on these things.
Five months ago, I went to the beach by myself for three days. There was something in me that I can’t explain, but I knew I needed to get away alone and I knew He had something for me. It wasn’t a Damascus Road experience per se, no lightening, no blindness thankfully. But things changed for me in those 3 days. He said quite a few things to my tired soul out there by the waves. As my tears drifted their way into the sand, I realized how desperately I needed these moments. I hadn’t heard Him quite like that in so long. As much as I’d like to believe that the beach is a magical place of spiritual revelation, I know that it wasn’t the sea or the sand that brought peace to my soul. What I found out there in the salty air was rest. That is where He met me. He was in my stillness.
Rest is so much more that physical stillness or sleep. Rest is a matter of the soul. My problem is I think of rest as a some kind of reward, I think most of the time I don’t deserve it. I think I haven’t done enough to require or desire rest physically or spiritually. And as a good old fashioned compromise, I use my escapism tactics on my resting discipline too: binging on Netflix, wasting time on social media, finding random things that all of a sudden HAVE TO BE DONE RIGHT THIS MINUTE. I do these things and think I’ve rested an adequate amount because I’m not working or thinking too hard. But I am slowly and stubbornly learning it just doesn’t work that way. He wants my soul quiet, not distracted.
I heard a song the other day and a line in it says, “It’s not a building you want to fill, it’s my heart. This empty space is what you wanted all along.” I so believe that more than our good works and holy to do lists, He wants our open hearts. He wants to give us rest, He can’t do that if we don’t give him the space or the time. We absolutely have work to do. But I am afraid we are working and running ourselves straight into numbness and lukewarm Christianity. We live in a society of frantic multitasking and productivity; we are slaves to our to do lists and worshippers of our busyness. Then, at the end of it all, when seeking shelter from the pressure, we run straight into the deceptive arms of social media. But there we start the cycle over again. We just don’t have enough likes, enough follows, enough readers, or we just don’t have it as good as our friend and all of her hashtags. We hustle and hurry through our days and when that isn’t enough, we end it comparing our lives to those we see through a screen. We’ve all been fooled. When did God ask us to live like that? We’ve been robbed of the life God offers to us, a life of peace and rest. I think it’s time to take it back, to reclaim what is already ours in Christ: rest, peace, fulfillment, purpose, and freedom.
So, how do we find this place of rest? It’s simple, but not always easy. Jesus said “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29) There are no to do lists, no quota, no agenda, no prerequisites. Just come. He didn’t tell them to get their lives together and then come. He didn’t tell them to finish their to do list before they came. He didn’t tell them to try everything else first and come as a last resort. It was simple, are you burdened? Are you weary? Are you discouraged? “Come to me and I will give you rest.”
If you’re hesitant, I understand. I’ve been there. Something about coming to Jesus seems vulnerable and uncertain sometimes. I think it’s because we like control so much. But I’ve also been burdened, weary, and discouraged. So, if you’re unsure if you should come to Him for rest, you can come with me. I’ll invite you along. We were never meant to fight alone. I’ll fight with you, but for now, lets just go to Him.