Are you worn out? Do you feel weighed down by everything you’re doing or trying to do? I was in the same position a few months ago, juggling so many things and trying my best to please God. It’s not that I was physically tired, more like emotionally and spiritually drained. I kept asking myself, “Why do I feel so tired?“. Then the Holy Spirit said to me, “You’re tired because you’re not resting.”

We all need rest. Without it, we’ll burn out. This principle is true spiritually just as much as it’s true physically. If you’re spiritually drained or overwhelmed it’s likely because you are not resting in God.

Cast your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken. – Psalm 55:22

Here are three things that are essential for spiritual rest in God.

Allow Jesus to be Lord, Not Just Savior

There’s rest in surrender. When Jesus is Lord of your life, your life is no longer yours, but His. That means surrendering your will and submitting to God’s. This can be difficult because we all have ideas of what our life should look like. The truth is God knows better and more than we do. It’s tempting to think, “What if the thing God calls me to do doesn’t satisfy me or make me happy?” But that’s not the right perspective. Our joy and satisfaction should come from living for Christ and doing His will. If you’re not there yet, it’s okay. Pray and ask God to change your heart and renew your mind so that pleasing Him is you’re greatest joy.

When we try to lead our own life, we’re responsible for figuring everything out and subject to all the stress that comes with that. However, when we follow (as Jesus calls us to), we find rest. The path is revealed to us, and we don’t have to figure it out. We have to walk it out.

Cast Your Cares Unto Jesus

There’s rest in submission:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30

The burdens of this life can be HEAVY; Depression, heartbreak, betrayal, financial problems, miscarriages, broken families…the list goes on. We do the best we can to manage them, but they weigh us down and wear us out. The Holy Spirit showed me that when we cast our cares unto Jesus and take His yoke upon us, we become like yoked oxen. Now we can rest because we are yoked to a partner whose strength greatly exceeds our own. We give Jesus our cares and burdens, and He gives us His peace, strength, and power.

Seek God for the Right Priorities

There’s rest in seeking. Our first priority should be spending time with God daily. If we claim to follow Him but don’t seek Him, how can we know if we’re pursuing the right things? Prioritizing has always been a struggle for me. Either I try to do too much and becoming anxious, or I feel like I’m not doing enough and feel like a failure. It’s a challenge to do it all and maintain your health, physical and mental. Why is it so difficult? Because we weren’t designed to have that type of capacity. We are designed to be dependent on the one who does.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. – Isaiah 40:28-29

I’ve started seeking Him daily about my priorities and submitting my to-do list to Him. One of the amazing things about God is the fact that He cares about even the smallest detail of our lives. I encourage you to seek Him regarding your schedule. He will tell you what He wants you to pursue, what opportunities to turn down, and how to make the most of your time. There may be a lot of things you want to do, but as Christians, our purpose isn’t to be busy, it’s to be effective for the Kingdom and do the good works God planned for us to in advance (Ephesians 2:10).

Understand that doing these things doesn’t mean you’ll never feel any sort of stress, pain, or burden again. However, they will help you stay in God’s will where there is rest, peace, and grace. What God calls you to, He will sustain you through.

All My Love,

Tiffanie