We live in a busy world. People rushing from one thing to another. We ask a friend, How’s it going? The answer is typical, Busy. We tend to admire a person who has a lot to do. The active type. Always on the move. Always making things happen.
Do you ever feel the pace gets too fast for you? Too frenetic? Would you like to slow down? Take a good break? We are in the middle of summer and we might feel this increasing desire to get away from it all and enjoy the outdoors in some quiet place.
David declares in Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name (NLT).
In John 10, Jesus identifies himself as the good shepherd. David is really saying, Jesus is my shepherd and all I need in life is found in him. He is the one who can lead me into rest—a place of calmness and peace for my soul. King David was an active man, leading the nation of Israel. Yet he recognized the importance of taking time to rest in God’s presence so his soul could be refreshed.
That’s what rest does for us. My wife and I have gone a few times to a pond about an hour drive from our home. There are mountains all around. We walk, have a lunch, sit and read, enjoy good conversation. I feel an inner rest and tranquility. David’s description of green meadows and peaceful streams is a picture of the place of rest we can experience in our soul—a place to stop and enjoy the presence of Jesus; a place to affirm that our security and identity is found in Jesus, not in nonstop striving.
Jesus loves to lead us to these places of rest and renewal. In Matthew 11, he said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest (NLT). We can be in a very ordinary place or in a very hectic space and still experience an inner rest in our soul. This happens when we admit that we can’t handle life on our own and we ask Jesus to come close to us and lead us. Jesus will always come when he is invited. And he comes to renew our strength—physically, emotionally and especially spiritually. I encourage you to invite Jesus to lead you into this kind of rest.