Did you know that you were created to rest and relax? Just like your body is designed to need food and water in order to survive, your flesh and your spirit also need tranquility in order to be healthy and thrive physically and spiritually. Need an example of this? Think about the last time you were awake all night. Whether worried about something that kept you tossing and turning or intentionally not sleeping due to studying or other activities, I can almost guarantee that you felt the impact of being short on sleep the next day. 

I remember once before Hannah and I had kids, we were involved in youth ministry and we had a student all-nighter at the church. Along with a hundred other sugar-hyped, hormonal teenagers, we stayed awake through the night and finally got home around 7 a.m. the next day. After stumbling into bed, we were asleep for about half an hour when we heard pounding on the roof of the house we were renting at the time. To our dismay, we forgot that our landlord had scheduled a roof repair that morning. Disgruntled and groggy, we made our way back to the church youth house that we had left only a while earlier and crashed on the floor there. I slept on top of an empty Cheerios bag, but I was too exhausted to even care! 

Friend, God fashioned you for serenity, and walking in rest is part of His covenant promise to you. Though you might feel like it’s next to impossible to break out of the cycle of racing thoughts and busy insanity, Jesus has made a way. When you meditate on His promises, spend time in His presence, and lift your heart and mouth to Him in praise, He refreshes your soul, relaxes your mind, and your body finds the peace it has been longing for. Standing in the sustaining power of your Savior makes the worries and problems that plague you smaller, because nothing is too hard for the One who created the Universe! Isn’t that great news?