Devotionals for the Heart: We can find the rest our soul needs in God

Rest for Our Souls
A devotional by Joy Beless

“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”—Psalm 62:5-8 (NIV)

What is shaking your world? The news bytes of the last 48 hours are enough to convince me to stay in bed with the covers over my head!

What is shaking your family’s world–conflict, exhaustion, financial need? I don’t need to convince you of the stressful and seemingly dangerous world we live in. And yet, was it not the same for King David who wrote the Bible book of Psalms?

Many people think that King David wrote this psalm in the anchor text above at the time his son, Absalom attempted to overthrow the government in rebellion against his own father’s authority and kingship. Rather than wait until David dies to reign, Absalom decides to accelerate the timeline. The story does not begin here but rather has evolved over years of division and conflict.

We each have a story that evolves over time and needs a course correction and desperate prayer for help. When our family of six lived in Tokyo (Japan), I had to learn a new way to live. Moving from a Dallas (Texas) suburb to live in Tokyo required a different way for me to do the most mundane things like buy groceries, visit the bank, and navigate the city driving on the left side of the road. I was trying to learn the language and culture while parenting four children. Then the “9/11” tragedy occurred in the USA during this time and the whole world changed overnight. I became so stressed and anxious that my hair literally fell out. I developed the autoimmune alopecia condition. There was so much I could not control—except for resting and trusting in the Lord. I knew I could not continue in the same way underneath all this stress and uncertainty life was hurling at me.

What about your story? Even as you read this devotional, what thoughts are surfacing and lurking beneath the veneer? Both domestically and internationally, the newsfeed at our fingertips reminds us that we live in perilous times—just like David. So perhaps we can learn some coping strategies from David and this psalm.

In Psalm 62:5-8, David declares where his rest and hope come from: God—pure and simple. No contingency or exit plans. What do you need rest “from”? What kind of rest? According to Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, there are several different kinds of rest that we need to feel restored. Physical, mental, social, and emotional rest are just some of the areas we need to bring calm and space into our lives.

Some important questions we can ask ourselves are:

What do we need “less of” to restore our mind, body, and soul?

What do we need “more of” to renew our mind, body, and soul?

What life patterns are contributing to our current stressed life?

What changes can we identify and control that are restorative?

I quickly realized I needed to make some changes when life seemed to spiral downward. I was in an exhaustive state trying to juggle all the “plates” of family and ministry. I realized our Sundays in church and at home were as busy as the other six days in the week, so I began to scale back extra activities. This was hard and impacted our children’s activities the most. However, not only I but the whole family needed more time to rest. We made Sundays in our household a day to restore, relax, and slow down the pace.

I realized my morning habit of walking was squeezed out of the day’s agenda and recognized my need to be outside and have some space of margin in my life, so I made that a priority. Reluctantly, I let go of my language class after two years, as I identified that as very stressful. I began to listen to music that calmed my soul and brought me joy. Playing it in the background seemed to bring down the stress of the whole household, not just mine! Lastly, I began to share with trusted people about what I was experiencing and identify the emotions that were building up ready to spew like a volcano! I learned not only was this giving me emotional and mental rest, but also modeling an important life skill for my children who were entering their teen years.

King David said in the Bible book of Psalm, that it is in God he finds rest for his soul. David trusted God with his kingdom and personal worries and when he reached an old age in his lifetime, he was confident that God is trustworthy to be present in difficult times. David reminds himself who God is to him: his hope, rock, salvation, fortress, honor, and refuge (Psalm 62:5-8). That is quite a list. As you slowly read over the list again, which word seems inviting to you in your present circumstances? Are there some areas in your life that need adjusting with “more of” or “less of”? Ask God to lead you in this process of seeking rest then follow Him into the rest your body and soul needs.

Let’s Pray:

Dear God,

Truly You are the source of rest for our souls. We are thankful that You are a rock in our ever-changing world! Thank You for being a refuge of peace for us. We are grateful to pour out our hearts to You.

In Jesus’s Name, I pray.

Amen.

Song of Reflection: “Find Rest” by Francesca Battistelli. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Joy Beless is a worshipper of God and lover of people. 

A practicing Spiritual Director, she is a speaker for retreats and conferences and facilitates guided solitude retreats at the family ranch in North Texas.

A seasoned worship leader and songwriter, she frequently weaves worship, God’s Word and spiritual practices together. She is a chapel provider for a shelter for the houseless and a certified Grief and Trauma Healing Facilitator. Serving at global retreats for Kingdom-minded women delights her soul.

She has written for Global Trellis and Missio Nexus. She connects God’s Word with the reality of our daily in all the ups and downs.

Joy is married to Roger. They live in Coppell (Texas). Joy is called "JoJo" by her nine adorable grandchildren. She enjoys the outdoors and encourages flowers to grow in the Texas heat.

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Connect with Joy:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joy.beless
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joy.beless/
Website: www.joybeless.org

Litfuse Publicity Group blog tour featuring "Sacred Rest" (book) by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith

Welcome to my blog's stop on the book tour for Sacred Rest!

It's a riveting read penned by a true expert with a heart for helping humankind. 

Read my review of this wonderful nonfiction book after you read the following information about the book and its awesome author!

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About the book:

Staying busy is easy. Staying well rested— there’s a challenge.

How can you keep your energy, happiness, creativity, and relationships fresh and thriving in the midst of never-ending family demands, career pressures, and the stress of everyday life? In Sacred Rest, Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, a board-certified internal medicine doctor, reveals why rest can no longer remain optional.

Dr. Dalton-Smith shares seven types of rest she has found lacking in the lives of those she encounters in her clinical practice and research-physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, sensory, social, creative—and why a deficiency in any one of these types of rest can have unfavorable effects on your health, happiness, relationships, creativity, and productivity. Sacred Rest combines the science of rest, the spirituality of rest, the gifts of rest, and the resulting fruit of rest. It shows rest as something sacred, valuable, and worthy of our respect.

By combining scientific research with personal stories, spiritual insight, and practical next steps, Sacred Rest gives the weary permission to embrace rest, set boundaries, and seek sanctuary without any guilt, shame, or fear.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

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About the Author: Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is an author, speaker, and board-certified physician. She has an active medical practice in Alabama (near the Birmingham area). She received her B.S. in Biochemistry at the University of Georgia and graduated with honors from Meharry Medical College in Nashville. She has been an adjunct faculty member at Baker College and Davenport University in Michigan teaching courses on health, nutrition, and disease progression. 

Dr. Dalton-Smith is a national and international media resource on the mind, body, spirit connection and has been featured in Women’s Day, Redbook, and First For Women magazine. She is the author of “Set Free to Live” and “Come Empty” (winner 2016 Golden Scroll Nonfiction Book of the Year and 2016 Illumination Award Gold medalist). She is a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Association and a repeat keynote speaker at their annual gathering. She has shared her tips on merging faith and medicine with over 16,000 health care professionals to encourage the current and next generation of doctors to treat the whole person.

Find out more about Saundra at http://ichoosemybestlife.com.

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My Review of Sacred Rest:

This book was everything that I expected yet exactly what I did not expect!

With a title like "Sacred Rest" and an author with impressive credentials as a doctor and media favorite, I expected this book to be a well-informed, enlightening read with a spiritual thread. But I did not expect it to grab me by the hand at the first page and fully captivate my attention like a good fiction story as the author used the power of words, real-life stories, medical resources and Bible-based truth to help me discover the reason why we all (humankind) need to learn how to truly rest.

I loved everything about this book and did not find anything that I did not like! The author has an authoritative voice but it's not overbearing and it won't cause you to become bored. She uses her authority as a health professional to effectively guide you through the ins and outs of "rest" as a concept and gives you a well-thought-out guide how even the busiest of persons can make true "rest" a reality in their life.

I appreciated the author's transparency in sharing scenes from her real-life story to enhance the storytelling. Early on in this book, the author made me laugh when she mentioned how she'd written a "birthing plan" and made copies for her husband and the medical professionals in the delivery room. She noted their response to her handing the papers of the birthing plan to them (they were not impressed and pushed the papers to the side to prepare to help her birth her baby). Later on during her labor when the pain became unbearable and unexpected situations occurred, one of the nurses asked the author, "Now what does the plan say we do about this?" Hilarious! But clearly at the time the author who was the expectant first-time mommy-to-be in the situation was not amused.

My heart softened and sympathized with one of the people the author mentioned who she was treating, a young lady who cut her wrists. The author noted that she could not heal the girl's pain, she could only suture the skin back together. The author touched on how medical professionals are trained to detach themselves from the patient in a professional manner as to not get emotional or draw into the intensity of what they're facing. She also talked about a conference in which she was the keynote speaker to a room filled with medical professionals and the first thing she realized is that she had to break the ice and teach them how to open up emotionally so that they could get the most of the healing experience she was there to facilitate.

There are many more wonderful examples in this book that spoke to my heart and enlightened my mind. But in the interest of time and keeping your attention along with not giving away the whole message in this book, I'll only mention a few more highlights...

Favorite line: "I'm convinced heaven must smell like hazelnut coffee" (page 7).

Most interesting interactive tool: The self-diagnosis that used several questions and a checklist to help the reader determine if you're experiencing a "mental rest deficit" or several other types of deficits such as "emotional rest deficit".

Most helpful feature: The section starting on page 129 that outlined and explored "Sacred Rest Boundaries" all the while emphasizing the importance of drawing and maintaining healthy boundaries.

Best Bible-based advice: "Cease fighting to have your way" (page 143). It's advice that's based on Romans 9:20 which is a Bible verse and it spoke most profoundly to me because that's a real-life struggle for me. The author said: "When we don't understand what God is doing, we journey into the battlefield of the mind and wage a war against our circumstances in the hopes that if we try hard enough and fight long enough, we will overcome the difficulty. But this is not the gift of freedom. Freedom is this: Instead of trying harder, trust more. Cease fighting, and with hands raised, bow your will to His. Assume a position of peace even in the midst of unfavorable circumstances or unknown outcomes. One way you know you've surrendered and ceased fighting is when you don't immediately react to adversity or challenging circumstances with fear and anxiety. You let go of your need to struggle and allow God to fight on your behalf. Some battles were never yours to fight standing, but the Lord's to fight while you rest."

...And the author could "drop the mic" right there and end the book on that note! But no, there are almost 100 more pages after that section to enjoy and explore!

If I could give this book a rating higher than five stars on Amazon.com, I totally would. It's worth its weight in gold and star power! If you have not read this book, you should.

*Litfuse Publicity Group provided me (Alexis A. Goring) with a complimentary copy of "Sacred Rest". My opinions in this book review are my own.