Looking at my current situation, I find myself stressed and fatigued from all that is going on, both in my personal life and in our world. I know that I need to turn these burdens to God and trust Him to use them to refine me and give Him glory. Instead, I find myself turning to idols: food, money, family, work, whatever I think will provide security and relief in the moment.
I know if I’m going to find true relief, I need to ask God to give me rest. Scripture gives us many examples of the rest available to us:
Mathew 11:28: “Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest for your souls.”
Psalms 62:1: “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.”
I have found some habits and disciplines that I can turn to that are truly helpful in finding that much needed rest. The first is spending time in God’s Word. I personally struggle with reading comprehension. Even though I spend time reading the Bible, I find it valuable to listen to God’s Word on my Bible app. The person reading has such a pleasant, soothing voice. For me, hearing the Word is beneficial to my
understanding.
Another discipline I’ve developed is spending time in prayer. Sometimes we can make this more difficult than it needs to be because we don’t think we have the right words or we’re not going to say the right things. I’ve started following a rhythm of prayer, starting by thanking God for being who He is, then asking Jesus to refine me through trials, praying that He would provide rest and take away the stress that I’m dealing with in my current situation. I end by praying that God would use me as He desires for His glory.
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The last discipline I’ve implemented is finding time for silence. In our busy world with so much pulling us and demanding our attention, I find these times of silence are important to calm my mind. It is in these times when I feel Jesus speaking to me. I use this time to reflect on who God is and what He means to me.
This is my prayer today, “Jesus, I know that you alone can give me true rest. Help me find rest through my time with you. AMEN.” I encourage you to pray it, too, and find your rest in Christ.