Encouragement for When Our Souls Long for Rest

A few days ago, a woman recognized me in a thrift store where I’d gone to buy a few things for our upcoming move back to shore. She greeted me with a smile, but her cheery hello quickly turned teary as she told me of her son’s drug overdose last fall.

Embarrassed by the unexpected wave of grief, she apologized for crying. “No apologies needed,” I reassured her.

We parted ways moments later, but our brief encounter stuck with me. Our conversation, like others I experienced at a women’s conference where I spoke on the weekend, tell me that women are weary. They’re tired from dealing with the hard stuff—chronic pain, cancer, difficult marriages, parenting prodigals, and more.

I get it. I’m tired of the hard stuff too. We’re weary, and our souls long for rest. 

We want it but can’t find it

Is it any wonder our souls long for rest? Worry makes us weary. Stress and sorrow sap our strength. Anxiety exhausts us. And yet, duty calls us to keep going. Meals must be prepared, the laundry done, emails and text messages need a response, and the kids needs rides to school and extra-curriculars.

Some days we feel like the psalmist who wrote:

“Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness.” (Psalm 55:6-7 NLT)

The thought of escaping to a little cabin in the woods sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Trouble is, leaving our cell phones behind, turning off the news, and putting physical distance between us and the pressures of life might give us temporary respite, but doing these things doesn’t guarantee rest for the soul. Only Jesus makes this promise and keeps it. 

Jesus invites us to rest

Jesus offers an invitation that’s hard to refuse:

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NLT)

That little word “all” means exactly that. All. The invitation to rest applies to you and me and everyone else in the room because He knows we all need it.

The invitation also extends to us without qualification. We don’t have to wait until we have it all together before we experience His rest. That would defeat the purpose. Jesus offers His rest to those who are spiritually weary at any time and for every reason. It doesn’t matter what makes our souls tired. It only matters that we recognize our need and turn to Him to meet it.

That word “rest” comes from the Greek word “anapauo” which means “to refresh, rejuvenate or revitalize.” That’s what our souls crave–refreshment. We’re dry and thirsty. We crave something that only Jesus can satisfy. And He will—when we accept His invitation.

How do we find it?

Finding rest for our souls begins and ends with a relationship with Jesus. “Come to me,” He says. No matter how hard we try, we’ll never find our need met anywhere else—not in comfort food, recreation, social media, human friendships. Not even in a getaway at a little cabin in the woods (although occasional getaways do help!).

Having a relationship with Jesus by placing our faith in Him alone for salvation is foundational to finding lasting rest for the soul, but we can take other actions to address our need. Here are three things we can do:.

• Spend time in Jesus’s presence.

Set time aside to read God’s Word, seek His direction before hopping into the day’s hustle, and listen to His voice before the noise begins.

Years ago, I developed the discipline of rising early to read my Bible. This worked and continues to work for me. Putting it off until later in the day pretty much guarantees it won’t happen because I get busy tending to other things.

Find what works best for you, and make it a priority. Regard it not as something you must do, but something you get to do. Consider it a date with Jesus, a joyful time to sit with the One who loves you and delights in you.  (PS: Here’s the Bible I use for my daily time with Jesus).

• Surrender your desire for control.

Goodness, trying to control something over which we have no control is exhausting on so many levels. Isn’t it better to give up trying and instead ask Jesus, the Blessed Controller of all things, to take the wheel? Let Him control your circumstances, and ask Him to help you rest in His wisdom, goodness, and sovereignty. The pressure’s off. Whew!

• Choose to be content.

Psalm 23:1 says, “The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” The last phrase doesn’t mean we have everything we want. It means we’re content with whatever the Shepherd provides or allows in our lives.

Choosing to be content frees us from striving for more. When we cease striving, we’re free to rest. 

What Jill Briscoe says about rest

Author Jill Briscoe describes the rest our souls crave like this: 

To rest isn’t always to rest the body first, though it might be. For each, the inner rest that energizes us for the work He [God] has called us to do is the Sabbath of the heart that should happen 24/7.

It is the tranquility of order in the midst of chaos, the whispers of His grace heard by our soul above the cacophony of world-noise. It’s the surprises of love in the deep place where nobody goes, as we rest in faith and feel the weight of the world and its troubles, the church and its turmoil, and our personal inner foes flee. It is the “yes” of the soul to the call of Christ. “Yes, Lord! Anytime, anyplace, anywhere!” That’s where the joy that is our strength lies. That’s where the rest is to be found.

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Do you hear Jesus calling? Do you hear His invitation? He knows you’re weary, and He wants to give you rest. How will you respond?

Here’s a minute audio teaching on Matthew 11:28 by Max Lucado.