Soul Rest
I have never needed rest for my soul more than I do now as a widow. About six months into this overwhelming grief journey, as I was weeping again through my treasured time of praying and reading my Bible, Jesus got my attention with His beautiful words about discipleship that I’d read many times before, but now they struck me in a curious way.
In Matthew 11, Jesus says to us,
v. 28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
v. 29: Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
v. 30: For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off His phrase, rest for your souls. What does this look like daily? And how do I find it like Jesus said I could?
I looked up the word rest in Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old And New Testament Words. What I found has become a significant marker in my healing journey.
Rest in v. 28 is a Greek verb which is what we would expect: “to give intermission from labor, to give rest, to refresh.” We all need physical rest. And grief can make everything seem more wearisome. We need anapauo.
Rest in v. 29 is a Greek noun and now one of my favorite words, though I probably won’t ever pronounce it correctly. This form of rest is the same word for “Sabbath rest” and J. Patrick says, “Christ’s rest is not a rest from work, but in work, not the rest of inactivity but of the harmonious working of all the faculties and affections…” We need anapausis more than ever. This is soul rest.
If you think about it, it is hard to trust a stranger, love them wholeheartedly, passionately follow them, learn from them, and be at rest in their presence. However, every moment spent getting to know Jesus is worth it.
Do you really know Him? Follow Him in the gospels? Watch and listen and worship? Do you really trust Him, even in the hard? The more we know and trust our Lord, the lighter our load becomes.
But how? We can cry and lament and lean into Jesus like never before. We can trust Him with every single thing that we are carrying and picture the tender look on His loving face as He eagerly takes our load and carries it for us–our broken hearts, grieving children, finances, fears, questions, anger, guilt, doubts, fragile hope, and facing a new year without our husbands–all of it–as we go about our days–not just on Sundays or when we have “quiet time.”
Personally, I have formed a new habit when driving. If I am alone in the car, I don’t listen to music or podcasts as much as I used to. I enjoy the silence and solitude for a little bit, then offer up to the Lord everything I’m thinking and feeling–the good, bad and ugly–and find rest for my soul knowing that the Almighty sees me, hears me, loves me, forgives me and graciously carries my burdens. Consciously trusting Him with everything throughout my days has brought indescribable peace and assurance amidst the neverending busyness and demands of this new life, especially when physical rest is fleeting. And especially on the most grief filled days. The more I give to Him, the more peace and rest He gives to me.
As His beloved, we can fix our eyes and thoughts on Jesus anytime (Hebrews 3:1 & 12:2) and trust Him beyond what our eyes can see. We can pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17) and have assurance that He hears us and is acting on our behalf.
True soul rest is only found in the King of Kings and the LORD of Lords–not in relationships, possessions, financial security, social media, education, hobbies, exercise, or even a nap. These things are not eternal, as enjoyable as they may be. A vacation, a change of pace or just running errands by ourselves may feel good for the soul, but real rest for our soul is only found in the One who holds our fragile hearts–the One who created us, the One who died for us to take away our sins, the only One who can restore us, making us strong, firm and steadfast. (1 Peter 5:10).
Run to our Eternal Comforter all day long, cling to Him with every fiber of your being and find rest for your soul.
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone, my hope comes from him. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62: 5,8.
In Him,
