rest

Opening Prayer: O God, full of compassion, I commit myself to you, in whom I am, and live and know. Be the goal of my pilgrimage and my rest by the way. Let my soul take refuge from the crowding turmoil of worldly thought beneath the shadow of your wings. Let my heart, this sea of restless waves, find peace in you, O God. Amen. ~St. Augustine

Scripture: Jeremiah 6:16

Journal:  What is your attitude toward rest?  Where does it fit in your perception of God’s will and work and Kingdom?  Why do you say that?  What is the difference between bodily rest and soul rest?  How do you feel when you actually try to rest?  Why?

Reflect: There’s no doubt about it.  The end result of walking in the good way is that we will find rest for our souls.  Therefore, I suppose it follows that if my soul is not rested, I must not be walking in the good way. 

     Why is it that we feel so ill at ease with the idea of rest?  Why does the very thought of it make us feel guilty?  Has our culture so indoctrinated us that we feel like rest is a bad thing?  Are we so afraid of stopping our frenetic level of activity because somehow we think that the world will fall apart if we are not actively working to hold it together?  Or are we more afraid that the world won’t fall apart, showing everyone the truth that the world doesn’t need me half as much as I want to believe it does?  Are we so averse to rest because we are afraid that if we stop we will lose our place or position in the grand scheme of things?  Are we afraid that we will be forgotten or unnecessary?  Why this attitude toward the notion of rest?  Why this fear?

     I think we need to recapture the goodness of rest, the necessity of it.  It is woven into the fabric of creation.  There must be an inhale before there can be an exhale.  Yet we tend to live our lives in constant exhale.  Why else would God set aside a day a week specifically for the purpose of rest unless it was totally necessary to our lives and well-being?

     The fact of the matter is that if we are walking in the good way, we will find rest for our souls.  It is a byproduct of genuinely walking with God.  God wants to give our souls—that part of us that was made to commune with him—a constant sense of life and peace and joy and rest that only he can give.  Why would we resist a gift like that?

Prayer

Closing Prayer: Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.  He is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.  Amen. ~Psalm 62:5-6