Flourish | Day 2
Rest Your Soul
Rest Your Soul
Understanding spiritual rest and how to get it.
By Ginger Harrington
The alarm buzzes me awake long before I’m ready to rise. Getting out of bed, I do a zombie walk to the bathroom—before I’ve gotten dressed, worry about a family member’s health, a friend’s grief, and meeting a big goal at work. “Where is the line between concern, worry, and faith?” I ask the Lord as I finish getting ready for the day. The weight of worry makes me feel heavy and tired.
We all need times to rest our souls. Spiritual rest can be easy to overlook when we face the burnout of mental, emotional, or physical exhaustion. Before we know it, worry, anxiety, anger, frustration, bitterness, unforgiveness, and stress burden our souls and bodies. A rest routine is needed to keep our bodies, souls, and spirits healthy and happy. Different from self-care, soul care restores our spirit, empowering us to experience peace and perseverance when we face challenges—a rest from the pressures.
Do you need to find ways to lighten the load of worries and concerns? What is spiritual rest and why is it important?
Spiritual Rest Versus Self-Care
Practicing spiritual rest or soul rest helps us bear the weight of life’s challenges. When I’m weary, I often default to self-care rather than making time for soul care. These two concepts often overlap. Self-care has to do with caring for our physical, mental, and emotional needs. Soul care happens when we trust Christ with our needs, rely on His presence and help to sustain us. Here are a few self-care responses I gravitate to:
