Finding Rest

Are you exhausted mentally, physically or spiritually? It’s easy to get that way. We have so much going on in our lives today that exhaustion becomes the norm for our lives. We have work, school, relationships, activities and families that require our attention 24/7. It seems we can never escape the stresses we allow ourselves to acquire.

When we finally break free from everything, our mind continues to try to solve problems, plan what’s coming next or think through our next steps. We never get a break and our bodies, minds, spirit and relationships suffer for it. That is a high price to pay for doing what we do.

God wants you to rest and recharge. He understands the pressures of this life. He set the example Himself for us by resting on the 7th day. There are some things found in scripture to help us find that rest that recharges us.

1. Hear His voice

If you are going to allow Him to lead you, you must first be able to hear His voice. Jesus often referred to himself as a shepherd and to us as sheep. He said that His sheep know His voice. That means that we need to be able to quiet all the voices and thoughts that are fighting for our attention and to listen for Him.

Psalm 95:7 says we are the flock under His care. If only we would listen to His voice. We have that ability to hear him, but we don’t make the availability. That is where we fail. Stop today to listen for his voice. He’s calling out to you to take you to a place of rest.

2. Obey His voice

Once we hear His voice, we must then obey it. It’s a two part process. We often hear God speaking to us, but we choose not to obey it because we either don’t like where He is telling us to go or we don’t think we have time to do what He is asking. We allow our minds to overrule what we heard from Him and that keeps us from the rest He promises.

Hebrews 4 talks about how the disobedience of the Israelites kept them from that rest after they left Egypt. They did not obey and did not find rest. God renews that promise of rest to us, but only if we obey His voice. That promise is contingent on us following through on our part.

3. Let Him lead you to it

In one the most quoted chapters of the Bible we find a scripture we pass over. Psalm 23:2 says that He lets me rest in peaceful meadows and He leads me beside peaceful streams. God wants to lead you to those places. He wants to be the one who takes you there. You cannot find fulfilled rest on your own.

We try to find that place through meditation, exercise or getting away. We often fail though at trying to find that rest, but it eludes us. You can get there if you allow Him to have that control to take you to those peaceful streams and quiet meadows. His desire is for you to find that rest.

If you find yourself in need of rest today, I encourage you to stop and listen to his voice. Once you have heard His voice, obey it and allow Him to lead you to that place of rest in your life. Without that rest, you will burn out and sacrifice things in your life that you hold dear. What will you do today to find that place of rest you desperately need?