When You Long for Rest in the New Year

“God,

Help me remember rest is not found after striving harder, but in abiding more.” —Amen.

These words christen my new journal and the year ahead with prayerful ink. Recently, I’ve found myself searching for direction and intentions as the calendar turned anew. The previous year was full of goals accomplished, progress tracked, and memories made. It was far from perfect, but I’m feeling stuck with where to go from here.

I’ve been wondering what does faithful abiding in the day to day really look like: striving or resting? Why do we keep striving even when we know resting is better? Plus, where is rest even found these days?

Is it only on a day of Sabbath after a grueling week of work, parenting, and teaching? Is it only found on designated days of vacation or when our bodies finally say enough and beckon us into a pause of sickness?

Or, can rest remain a constant posture of our hearts even when work is unceasing?

My eyes fix on this passage.

“Thus says the Lord: Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and find REST for your souls.” Jeremiah 6:16 ESV

Stand. Look. Ask. Find.

I am reminded that rest is not simply found in ceasing activity because those are all action verbs. I know from experience, rest is not found in a completely blank calendar (does that even exist?) or a perfectly quiet and tidy house, though I would argue those are incredibly life-giving. The absence of work is only one definition for rest, yet we tend to neglect that rest can also mean placing trust and dependency on something other than ourselves.

Therefore I’ve chosen REST to be my focus for the year ahead.

True rest this year, for me, is a heart posture seeking to trust God for the outcome of my efforts, rather than trusting in the effectiveness of my efforts. Rest is not reliant upon my performance because my heart chooses to rest in God’s abilities over my own. That’s good news. It also frees me from attempting to control an outcome that was never mine to decide.

So, as the new year continues, maybe you are desiring rest as well.

Pray with me:

God, I stand with you. I look for you to move and make a way forward. Help me find your way before my own. I ask you to pour out your favor upon me as I commit my work to you. Thank you that you are a faithful God who gives rest along the weary way. Help me remember rest is not found after striving harder, but abiding in you more.

Amen.