Topic: Give Your Soul a Rest [Joyce Meyer Devotional 25 July 2020]
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So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.— Hebrews 4:9 (ESV)
If you’ve ever had a good, hard workout at the gym, you know how nice it feels to give your body a rest afterward. Your body not only enjoys the rest, it needs it. When your soul has been wounded—just like your body after a workout—it also needs a rest.
Thankfully, God promises us rest for our souls in His Word. In Exodus 33:14, God speaks to the Israelites, saying: My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest (NIV). The psalmist declares: Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him (Ps. 62:1 NIV). Interestingly, the psalmist speaks to his soul in Psalm 62:5, saying: Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him (NIV) and again in Psalm 116:7: Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. Also in Psalms is a phrase familiar to many of us, saying that the Lord restores our souls (23:3). When our soul has a chance to rest, it can be strengthened and restored.
In Matthew 11:28–30, Jesus says: 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 (NIV). A wounded soul can be a heavy burden, but Jesus invites us to come to Him because He will give our souls the rest they need.
Many people whose souls have been wounded try all kinds of ways to feel better and find peace before they ultimately surrender to God. That can be frustrating and exhausting. Nothing and no one apart from God can ever give our soul the rest it needs. Hebrews 4:1–3 teaches us that we enter into rest by faith, by believing God. It says: Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest… (ESV).
Believing (trusting God) is the only doorway into the rest of God. The more we trust God, the easier life becomes, because what we commit to Him, He takes care of. He may not do it on the schedule we’ve set, or in exactly the way we want it done, but He will always take the best possible care of us because of His amazing love for us.
Prayer Starter: Father, You said to come to you when I’m weary and hurting, and You would give me rest, so here I am. Thank You for healing what’s broken in me, and for helping my soul to truly rest. In Jesus’ Name, amen.