“Do you trust God enough to rest?”
A spiritual director shocked me with this question a few years ago as I anxiously wrestled with discernment.
“This doesn’t always have to feel like work,” she reminded me. “Every call is God’s initiative. Sure, we must seek and engage good discernment practices, but our discovery and response are ultimately the action of the Spirit. Can you place this in God’s hands and let yourself rest?”
The invitation brought me relief. I embraced relaxation and refreshment. To my surprise, without forcing it, a much more spacious contemplation arose in me. I began to visualize a creative way forward that I hadn’t even considered before.
Tricia Hershey, founder of @thenapministry, writes in her new book, Rest is Resistance, that “there has been a DreamSpace theft.” Capitalistic grind culture has conditioned us to keep pushing when we really need to pause. Rest gives us space to dream, to access the wisdom in our bodies, to reconnect to our Source. Rest creates energy, unleashes creativity, and fosters our deepest ideas. For Hershey, rest does not mean abandoning the crucial work of justice; it allows us to approach the work with wisdom, healing, and liberation. So too with discernment.
Our faith tradition anchors itself in the ancient practice of Sabbath, a day of rest which is God’s command and gift. During the Exodus story, while explaining the gift of manna to the wandering Israelites, God says, “Take note! The LORD has given you the Sabbath. That is why on the sixth day he gives you food for two days” (Ex 16:29). As the passage continues, we see that this is not up for debate; God insists that the people rest – and trust that there will be enough.
There is divine purpose and power in Sabbath. Rest reminds us that we are not God but rather beloved creatures of our ever-faithful Creator. In the midst of all the planning for the year ahead, make sure to plan just as well for how you will honor the call, gift, and necessity for Sabbath. Instead of another resolution, I propose a “rest-olution” rooted in trust that the Spirit works beyond our control and understanding.
St. Augustine said it best: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O God.”
