Finding Rest

Whenever I focus on the stress of this season, my heart is filled with words of complaint. My circumstances aren’t what I hoped. No one in my life meets my standards. I’m never good enough. When Christmas hymns remind me that the Savior’s birth is a “joy to the world” and “a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,” my weary heart disagrees.

Rest for Our Souls

In all the extra work of the season, I forget that true rest is only found in the Savior I’m working so hard to celebrate. He offers us rest for our souls when physical rest is elusive. 

Our world is full of words that will tell us we deserve rest and need to take care of ourselves first, but the insufficient comfort of this world does not ultimately satisfy the longings of our soul. So we must remember a better word-the Word with Us who preached such hopeful words as:

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.”  Matthew 6:31-32

Transformed as we Rest in Christ’s Finished Work

If you shift your focus to your all-powerful God, trust overwrites the lies of your heart, and grumbling is transformed into gratitude. Instead of doubting your abilities, you remember that God has equipped you with everything you need for life and godliness through knowing him (2 Pet. 1:3). Instead of being frustrated by your limitations, you can boast that God’s power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). When we remember that all the promises of God are yes in Jesus, our heart abounds in thankfulness for his generosity (2 Cor. 1:20). Instead of dwelling on our unfinished work, we can rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross (John 19:30). In these truths you will find something better than relief from your lists; you will find rest for your soul now and hope for a future perfect rest in the presence of your Savior. 

Find the first Advent meditation, The Best Gift, here.

Find the second Advent meditation, Fulfilled by Following Our Servant King, here.

Share this post: