A few months back, I was climbing this beautiful trail at a nearby nature park. The particular trail I chose was a steep, rocky path with minimal rest stops. In the middle of me trudging along, tripping over hidden rocks and thick tree roots, I began to think: When we go through life, isn’t it just like that? It’s like we are all constantly climbing uphill over this mountain of circumstances and situations out of our control, heartbreak over lost loved ones, broken dreams, and experiencing the trauma of neglect and abuse. We trip over rocks of anxiety, situations that threaten to steal our joy, and disappointments of losing our dream job, dream relationship, or dream baby. We start to think, and even cry out in despair, when will this ever stop??
As I was climbing the rocky terrain, there were areas when the path leveled that I could pause and take a breather. I was hit with the thought that there are seasons in our lives when things level out and actually sort of feel normal. No trauma. No heartbreak. Nobody calling your phone saying a member of your family passed away…again. For a season, we are actually allowed to breathe.
This season could be a few weeks, a few months, or even a few years, but no matter the duration, God always allows us seasons of rest. He permits the dust and debris to settle (if only for a little while). This is when God allows us moments where we can rest—rest in Him.
As I was gazing up the trail, I noticed I didn’t see any flat plateaus ahead when I knew my next rest point would be. This is when I realized there are times in my life that I will have to force myself to rest (which is never an easy thing to do). Oftentimes, I never know when my next season of rest will be, so this is when I have to be mindful and aware of the condition of my heart, mind, and soul. I often have to check in with myself: What do I need? Have I been kind to my soul lately? Am I just drudging through life and using fake comforts to satisfy myself (you know, like binge-watching When Calls the Heart or reading three Karen Kingsbury novels in a week)? There is such a thing as too much of a good thing! (Except for the Presence of Jesus of course!)
David from the Bible was someone who understood His need for rest. Not just rest, but resting in God. In Psalm 42, he says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Jeremiah 31:25 states, “For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”
True rest is when we satisfy our deepest longing for the Presence of Jesus. I often find that my deepest rest is when I emerge myself in God’s Creation. The musical chorus of a songbird. The rustling of the leaves as the wind plays hide and seek. The warmth of the sun beating on my neck, warming me from head to toe. The wonder and beauty of a sunset. The trickle and splash of the creek. The leap of a deer, pausing and turning its head towards me for a moment before bounding away to a more secure location. The moon and the stars, shining a path in the deepest of nights. The smell of the woods after a spring rain.
This is what I can access in my area, but every location is different. Maybe the splash of the waves at the beach is your safe haven. Maybe it’s riding down a freeway eating a bag of Cheetos. Maybe gardening lights up your soul and brings a hum to your spirit. Everybody has something that brings them closer to their Savior. If you know what it is, do that. Don’t keep scrolling through Facebook because it’s the easier path and you can’t miss one day of knowing what your friends are doing. That’s not rest, that’s a false comfort. Possibly even an addiction if not kept in check. Find true rest in your Abba, and let Him bring refreshment to your soul that Facebook wishes it could do.
If we keep struggling and striving through life without resting, truly resting (remember what I said about true rest being?), we are just going to burn out. We’re not going to make it to the next plateau. We just might fall over in the process from the pure exhaustion of being, doing, and going all the time; of not drinking from the wellspring of life that is Jesus.
I was wearing this hiking backpack on the trail that has like twenty pockets filled with things such as my journal, Bible, snacks, water, and of course, I’m wearing my camera so I can take pictures. As I was climbing up the steep trail, I remembered thinking how thirsty I was. I remembered saying, I’m just going to make it to the top, and then I’ll take a drink of water.
But I’m only a quarter way up and I’m sooooo thirsty. I just can’t physically take another step without having that sweet taste of the water I have stashed away. My mind kept going: It’s not that much longer, just wait. You’ll be glad you waited because it will taste that much sweeter at the top.
I was determined to keep going, but the Lord stopped me. No, I want you to drink now. I want you to drink in My peace, and My strength, and My joy, and My Presence. I want you to drink in all of Me. I don’t want you to wait until you get to the top. I don’t want you to fall over from exhaustion. Don’t wait to drink from My Well-Spring, daughter, for the water that I want to give you will become in you a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life (John 14:14).
Well, those words surely stopped me in my tracks. I fumbled to get my water out of the zipper pocket, and as I took a gulp, my body began to relax. I began to feel energized again. That panicky feeling in my chest began to subside and my legs seized to quiver. I felt refreshed and renewed. I felt like I could make it to the top of that steep trail, and then some.
Friends, this is how it feels when we choose to rest, pause, and withdraw from life to rest in Jesus. This is how it feels when we decide, for once in our life, to drink now and not later. Rest is non-negotiable because when we rest in Jesus, He will give us what we need to climb up that steep and rocky mountain of our lives. When we drink from His Wellspring, He will give us the peace beyond all understanding (Philippians 4:6) to face that pending divorce, to hope for a better tomorrow when our dream home is caved in by a hurricane, and to be joyful even when life is falling apart all around us.
So, what is it that you can do that will bring you closer to the Presence of Jesus? Will you pause in your life, dear one, and take a sip of God’s goodness and true rest?
Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.
Augestine of Hippo
