Finding Rest Even When Life Is Hectic

“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”

(Psalm 62:1–2, NIV)

As we come to the end of our summer, I have been reflecting on how well I found true rest in the slowed pace of the season. While one week of holidays was greatly rejuvenating, the other week was so busy it left me feeling more tired than before. What did I miss? What did I do wrong?

God has built rest into His plan for us - not only the physical rest of sleep and Sabbath but also a spiritual rest of living in Him. How do we find the rest of God in an on-going way? Why is it we feel guilty when we built restful and spiritually uplifting practices into our lives?

I often wish for my heart and mind to feel like the water in the picture … perfectly calm and quiet. It is very rare to find water this calm, and it seems even more rare to find this calmness in life. We feel pressure to meet the needs of those around us, we are hurting over experiences or words or losses, we face continual pressure to be something or someone we’re not. These are exhausting and damaging to our relationships with one another and particularly with God.

While I wish there was an easy 1-2-3 step plan for finding this rest, I have not yet found one. Join me as I meditate on Psalm 62 in the coming days as it reflects a commitment to trust and rest in God when life is wavy (use the comments option below to share what the Spirit reveals to you). I am also working to find our copy of Mark Buchanan’s book, The Rest of God; if you wrestle with finding soul rest, this is a book I recommend you track down and purchase a copy of. Finally, I would suggest scheduling in regular connection points with friends and small groups so we live this journey together.

Pastor Ryan