Where’s the Rest?

Hey girls!

I am excited you  stopped by today. Many of you accepted my invitation to come visit in my devotion Give Yourself Permission to Slow Down.

Can I be honest with you? As I set down to write today’s post, to offer some constructive and encouraging words about creating white space in your life I feel like a big failure. You see, I arrived late for both my speaking events this weekend. My house is a wreck. Dishes stacked in the sink.  Piles of this here and there. Mounds of laundry waiting to be washed. Dirty socks left where my son took them off. Words waiting to be written.  Rather than having words to encourage you I find myself asking, “Where’s the rest?” As irony would have it today is Sunday.

What can I offer as encouragement today? The same encouragement I am gonna give myself, God’s Word.

“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.” Matthews 11:28-30

Ahhh. I feel lighter already. Let’s break this scripture up into bite-sized pieces.

God says:

Get away with me. When we do we

  • Recover our life
  • Learn real rest

Walk and work with me. When we do we

  • Learn the unforced rhythms of grace

Keep company with me. When we do we

  • Learn to live freely and lightly

We can sum these verses up in three words…Be with God. When we do He teaches us real rest and rhythm to our chaotic lives. So in the busyness and chaos of your already busy day, find time to be with God.

How will you do that today? Me? The sun is supposed to finally shine today. I plan to sit outside with my Bible, journal, and computer. If it rains, I’ll move the meeting inside. I will be with God.

11 Comments

  1. I’m with you! Rest has always been difficult for me, for some reason I seem to equate busyness with godliness! I almost feel guilty when I stop. Now that I am retired, I thought it would be easier to slow down, but I find that I have filled my days with more busyness, just a different kind. I do take time most mornings to do my scripture reading plan and the Proverbs 31 devotional, then I’m off and running. I’ve struggled with fatigue for years with no apparent physical reason. I’ve always wished I could obtain the kind of rest Jesus says is found in Him. I’m just not sure how to accomplish it. I love the version of Matt. 11 that you’ve used! Thanks.

  2. Loved your devotional at P31 and this post too. I went to what should have been a life-changing conference on Sabbath rest last winter. Only I’m not exactly applying it, so it didn’t change my life yet! But I adopted “rest” as my word in 2015, and I’m trying to learn!

  3. Thank you so much for this reminder. I hope many see it. Having worked in women’s health for many years, I’m keenly aware of the injury we do to ourselves as women by not maintaining Godly “balance” in our lives: that actually includes a Sabbath rest every week. Most of us are happy for an hour in peace. It is sad that the Sabbath day has become another day of working. However, It is wonderfully reassuring to know that our LORD shares our load with us. I like the AMP version of these verses:
    “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and re-creation and blessed quiet) for your souls. 30 For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.” Now that is a prescription for health!

  4. This is a very timely message today and I felt God was speaking directly to me. I just realized that I have only taken a total of 9 1/2 hrs off work since early March and I was wondering why I was so stressed. I think I will schedule some time off this week, rest, and enjoy time with God!

  5. Thank you, Wendy, for an absolutely beautiful reminder. I should read this every morning! Just thinking of it makes my soul breathe and a smile come to my face. To get away with God has got to be the best thing ever, but I unfortunately do it too rarely. Maybe once or twice a year if I’m on retreats. So, thank you for the challenge to be intentional and spend time with my Lord.

  6. I so want to find time each day to just be with God. I have allowed life to become so overwhelming it’s difficult to concentrate on just Him. 🙁 One thing I have learned to do is take a couple of minutes during my day at work to read blogs like this one and others from OBS. It has really helped me feel like I am staying connected to God. It actually helps me keep my emotions in check during my day here also. 🙂

  7. Thank you for the reminder. It is sooo hard to do this at times. Starting my day the Lord’s presence is a life line for me so it’s incredibly frustrating to struggle with taking a day for rest & worship.

  8. Found all your skurry of activity and productiveness quite refreshing as I’ve managed, through some physical ailment, to find myself slowed down to barely a crawl, which consists of eat, poop, sleep, shower, not necessarily in that order. I am getting in some refreshing Bible reading and occasional sunshine and go on short trips in the car with my head out the window and my ears flapping in the wind. Read in Eccl today which was a real downer so I think I’ll stay away from that poor fellow but find delight and enjoy the activity of my neighbors and when we go visit our grands. Such a flutter!! Just wanted to remind you to remember about the enjoy part of resting because otherwise even resting can wear you out!!!

  9. Thank you so much for this reminder! God had placed this on my heart yesterday so to read the encouragement for today devotional today and then read your blog was so encouraging and confirmation that God wants us to rest more. Thank you for allowing God to use you and to speak to others!!

  10. Ahhhh……I so needed to read this tonight. The words spoke loud and clear to me. I love the verse, Wendy. It will be one I want to commit to memory! Thank you for all you do to inspire us through God’s word.

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