Many Christians know they are supposed to rest, yet feel they never truly do. We finish a workday exhausted only to fill evenings with chores, scrolling, or unfinished tasks. Weekends are frantic. Even holidays can feel like a race. Jesus’ invitation – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) – sounds beautiful but out of reach.
Part of our struggle is misunderstanding rest. We imagine it as doing nothing, but biblical rest is deeper. When God rested on the seventh day, He did not collapse from fatigue; He delighted in finished work. Sabbath in Scripture is not laziness but worshipful trust – stepping back to acknowledge God as Creator and Sustainer. Rest means we stop trying to be God.
Modern culture fights this. Productivity is prized, and our devices blur every boundary. Emails arrive at midnight. News never stops. Social media insists that everyone else is achieving more. No wonder our souls stay restless. Yet Hebrews 4 says there remains “a Sabbath-rest for the people of God,” a rest entered by faith. We cease striving to earn approval and rely on Christ’s finished work. Spiritual rest begins in the gospel.
Practising rest starts small. Setting aside one day a week to worship, pray, and enjoy life without work reminds us who holds the world. For many, Sunday already points this way; but Sabbath can also mean simply stopping to remember God’s rule and grace. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Stillness is countercultural but healing.
Daily, we can weave micro-Sabbaths. Begin and end the day with prayerful silence. Put the phone away at meals. Take a short walk to breathe and thank God. These pauses are not wasted; they create space for His presence.
Rest is also about trust. Anxiety drives overwork. Jesus teaches us to pray, “Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11). Daily bread means God provides enough for today. We can shut the laptop and sleep because He is awake. Psalm 127:2 reminds us it is “in vain” to rise early and stay up late toiling for food, “for he grants sleep to those he loves.”
Community helps too. The early church shared burdens, prayed together, and broke bread with glad hearts. We were never meant to carry life alone. Finding rhythms of worship, fellowship, and shared meals lightens loads that feel too heavy for one.
Finally, remember that ultimate rest is future as well as present. Revelation pictures a renewed creation where striving ends and God’s people dwell secure. Our weekly and daily rests are rehearsals for that day. We rest now because one day perfect rest will come.
If rest feels impossible, start where you are. Turn off notifications for an hour. Pray before you check the news. Guard Sunday worship. Say no when your schedule crushes your soul. Rest is not indulgence; it is obedience and trust. Jesus calls the weary because He knows our limits better than we do – and He is gentle with the tired. His rest is a gift waiting to be received.