1. To Find Refuge in God's Unconditional Love.
In rhythms of rest, we pave the way for a vital exchange of love. It is a love that exists outside of effort, status, or achievement. This love doesn't demand to be earned, fought for, or won. It is given — generously and without reservation. This love, rooted in Christ's new covenant, liberates us from the burdens of expectations and the never-ending search for meaning. As adults, we are frequently entangled in a continuous struggle to validate our existence, always seeking to measure our worth and the value of our actions. Then we scan our surroundings and assess the worth of others based on our ingrained criteria. However, in rest, God invites a divine interruption to this way of thinking and being. We move from a life defined by societal benchmarks to one shaped by a love that lifts the burden from our shoulders, allowing us to explore the world with the uninhibited joy and wonder of a child.
2. To Uncover the Core Lies that Are Making You Weary.
The lies of Satan are destructive and harmful to our bodies and communities. We live out the lies we believe. What begins as an unchecked thought grows into repetitive patterns and choices that cause pain. Because we live in a broken world, we must make time for the Holy Spirit to regularly perform surgery on our hearts and minds.
3. To Inspire Awe and Wonder.
We learn how to live by repeatedly learning how to worship. Worship is an act. We demonstrate worship with our minds, hearts, and bodies. Authentic worship involves the healthy and holy rhythmic dance of modeling and imitating. As I sit watching the trees move in the wind, I mirror creation’s praises to God. “Lord, teach my entire being to respond to you like the trees,” I pray. In another moment, I model worship through song, action, or written expression, unaware of whose worship of Christ I am inspiring.
4. To Ignite a Zeal to Live.
Our hearts require motivation and inspiration to live fearlessly, vulnerably, and freely. Being alive does not imply living. Living involves engaging the world courageously with your voice, passions, and presence: a presence that reflects God's peace, creativity, justice, wisdom, and compassion. Living necessitates a never-ending battle to maintain the belief that your life matters. Rhythms of rest provide you the strength to not conceal or dampen the light of Christ within you.
5. To Meditate on Matters of The Spirit.
According to Romans 8:6, a mind set on the flesh leads to death, while a mind set on the Spirit leads to life and peace. I can only speak to the painful despair I suffered when I did not establish routines that guided my attention toward God’s promises and active work of redemption. Meditation requires ingesting The Word like nectar rather than simply reading it, allowing it to renovate your heart and populate a new kingdom imagination.
6. To Silence Anxiety.
Psalms 46 is filled with chaos. The Psalmist describes mountains collapsing into the sea, nations are on the verge of war, desolation, and lack all over the earth. Although there are only eleven verses, three ‘Selahs’ appear in the text, disrupting the cadence and tone. We are in a period of cultural chaos and confusion. We see our institutional structures of support are failing. How will you cope with the uncertainty and change? Will you seek escapism, hoard possession, fight the ‘other,” or will you rest? Selah is a rhythmic pause in the presence of God. What transforms our fear into a confident expectation of God’s faithfulness and power is the silence between the noise.
7. To Illustrate Defiance and Faith.
Sabbath is both a prophetic declaration and a tangible act of resistance. The practice dates back to when God commanded Israel to keep the Sabbath even while wandering in the wilderness. Once a week, Israel was to live as if the ultimate rest had already come. Sabbath is a physical confession of a promised future in which Christ’s reign defeats chaos, confusion, and death. It is also a practical act of refusal. When we observe the Sabbath, we reject a culture that insists our worth is measured by our productivity and that are efforts alone can liberate us. Practicing sabbath rest, is an outward invitation for God's grace to strengthen, renew, and empower us.
Rhythms of Rest: Two Practical Invitations
This week, find three moments in your day—maybe morning, noon, and night—to pause intentionally. Whether your environment is chaotic or peaceful, stop to reflect. Is there anything in your immediate surroundings that could inspire worship? Hold that person, scene, scripture, or object in your heart. As you pause, ask yourself: How would I like to express gratitude and worship to God in this moment?
This week, in your rhythms of rest, I invite you to consider Jesus’ Sabbath actions. In Luke 6:6-11, Jesus encountered a man with a deformed hand while teaching in the synagogue. Instead of following religious rules, Jesus extended God’s healing and restoration to the man beside him. How can you utilize the Sabbath to extend God's healing, repair, and restoration to those around you rather than just for personal renewal?
