Rest for Your Souls

Jeremiah 6:16

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. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ (English Standard Version)

Matthew 11:28–30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

These two passages are the only times this phrase, “find rest for your souls,” occurs. Once in the Hebrew Scriptures, which we call the Old Testament, and once in the Christian Scriptures, which we call the New Testament. In both covenants, God points out that you are looking for something that seems unobtainable: rest for your souls.

In Jeremiah 6, the prophet Jeremiah is calling the people back to a right relationship with God. Stop, stand still, look back at the ancient paths, the historical faithfulness of God, the good promises of God and recognize God is at work. But stopping and looking at the right path is not enough; you must walk it to find rest for your soul. 

When I was in 7th grade, I had the opportunity to go on a West Virginia back packing trip with the Chapel in Akron’s junior high ministry. It’s been so long that I don’t remember how many of us went, but it was large enough that we had to break into two groups and go in opposite directions. Our team leader, Dan, told us he chose the hard way for our group, and all of us boys cheered! 

We had not idea what we were getting into, just that we were hiking into the woods and were going to rough it for a few days. Dan led us into the woods up a mountain trail. The trail was narrow, it was steep, and the cheers began to fade. We were moving through some difficult trails. We made it to camp the first night completely exhausted, but had to set up our tents, make a fire, eat MREs and go to bed. 

The next morning, we packed up our camp and began hiking, what we hoped would be easier. It was not. On this day we hiked up one mountain, down into the valley and up a second mountain. I was beginning to get frustrated that Dan made this trip so difficult. We were three days away from the bus, out in the middle of the wilderness, exhausted, sleeping in tents, and thinking that we had a few more days of this. I began to regret this trip, but Dan had a plan and he promised we would enjoy this. So far, I was not.

The next morning, the path leveled out and became very pleasant. We came upon the other group, they were all laughing, joking, and looked refreshed, and my group looked tired and worn out. We exchanged a few stories and then went our separate ways. They went down the path we came from, and we headed down the path they came from. 

Dan’s plan began to unfold for us in the next few miles. We conquered the mountains at the beginning of the trip, and now we were hiking the flat ground along the river. We set up camp early, went for a swim, found refreshment in the mountain streams. The next days were a breeze, light, and full of fun. By the time we got back to the bus, our group was refreshed, energetic, and full of smiles. The other group was stinky, tired, and grumpy.

Jeremiah’s exhortation is a call to the harder path, the narrow path, the ancient path, but it leads to a place of rest and refreshment. The unfortunate truth is we are like the Israelites who hear the call and say, “no I want to go the easy way.” The problem with the easy way is that it ends hard, it gets more difficult, and the stakes are much higher than a Jr High backpacking trip.

Because we are all sinners who desire the easy way out, we are all destined for judgment. We didn’t listen to Jeremiah’s call to return to God and experience his rest in our souls. But God, who is rich and mercy and grace, sent his own Son to enter into our space, in our flesh, and lived a perfect life. During his ministry, Jesus once again brought up the need to find rest for our souls. This time he didn’t call to the ancient paths, but he calls us unto himself. He recognizes that we are weary and heavy laden, he sees that we are desperate and needy, and he has compassion on us. 

Come to Jesus and he will give rest to your soul. Rest is an amazing gift. True rest is hard to find and rest that reaches all the way to our soul is impossible to find apart from the grace of Jesus. 

Several years ago, I took a group of teens on our first trip to Haiti. On that trip we visited hell, or at least the closest thing to hell on earth that I have experienced, for it was dark and wicked. It was an orphanage run by wicked men who neglected children so they could make money. They made promises of education, teaching English, and care in order to get children, but it was scam. Our leader took groups there so he could try to keep the men accountable and to make sure these children would receive a hot meal while we were present. 

My niece, Marissa, was with us. Almost immediately upon our arrival, a little girl fan to Marissa, climbed up in her lap and fell asleep hugging her. This girl was unbathed, wearing the only clothes she had, which haven’t been washed in a long time. Marissa didn’t hesitate. She didn’t bulk at picking up this child because she was stinky and dirty. She embraced her. 

They sat like that for hours. Later, I told my niece that her presence provides that beautiful little girl safety, to the point that she fell sound asleep. Honestly, I want to cry once again just thinking about how precious that moment was. Thankfully, Children’s Services found out about that place and shut it down, but it left an indelible mark on our lives. 

In that picture, the little girl represents all of our souls. Desperate. Unclean. Malnourished. Sleep deprived. Abandoned. Abused. In need of rest. Marissa is a picture of Christ. He sees our filth, our need, our desperation and he says, “Come, climb up on my lap, let me embrace you so you feel secure, loved, and kept. In my embrace you will find rest that goes to your very soul.”

That is the Gospel. That is God’s love. And he keeps us for all of eternity. Our team had to leave, and it was heart wrenching to pull away. But Jesus will never leave us or forsake us.

Jesus is the source of our rest, but we have to walk in his rest. Just like Jeremiah called to Israel to walk the ancient paths, Jesus calls us to follow him. We have to walk in the way that leads to rest.

Just a few practical ways that we can walk in the rest that Jesus provides. 

Divert Daily, Withdraw Weekly, Abandon Annually

Divert Daily – 

Psalm 1:1–2

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 

King David knew he had to set aside time every day to experience the rest from God. Divert means to look away, to redirect, to draw to a different course. Recognizing that we get caught up in daily tasks and struggles of this world, we need to pause and remember God in our daily life. Doing a daily quiet time, devotional, and prayer time is a powerful way to invite the rest that Jesus gives. 

Smartphones, TVs, Social Media, music, movies, etc. are often distractions from connecting with Jesus. They fill our minds with things that cause anxiety, frustrations, and sinful desires. Daily you need to make a plan to control these devices or remove them completely. 

Since we are talking about rest, think about sleep. You need a good night of sleep, but often your devices are distracting you from sleep. You need to shut off the devices, slow down your schedule, and get some sleep. Trust that Jesus’ embrace will be enough and rest. 

Withdraw Weekly

Exodus 20:8–10

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work… 

Sabbath rest is built into the creative order. You need a day of rest. In order to experience the rest Jesus has provided, you need to learn how to set aside one day to trust him with your activities. That means stop from work. As a student, you need at least one day a week where you don’t have to study or do schoolwork. As a worker, you need at least one day a week where you do not have to do your job. This takes planning ahead and preparation. A sabbath rest is doing things that allows you to stop thinking about your primary occupation and trust that God will cover it for you. 

Abandon Annually

Psalm 23:1–3

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Most of you take a vacation every year. You stop school and work to leave for some form of recreation. This rejuvenates you to come back to the daily grind. Consider this spiritually. What is at least one thing you can do annually that will recharge you spiritually? Each year, I attend a conference or two to be encouraged spiritually. I get away where I am a learner and a student again. 

Occasionally I will take time to just disappear to be alone with God and make it a spiritual retreat. Mission trips are good ways to do this. Consider doing something different once a year to retreat and find rest for your soul in Christ. 

In all these things, it starts off like the first few days of my backpacking trip, a struggle. However, when you stick with it, it will lead you by the cool waters and you will find the refreshment that Jesus promises you.