Stop and Rest

STOP AND REST

 

Hey thanks for tuning in today to the alive and well Podcast.  I’m a pastor at Awaken Church in Rome, NY and these short messages are the summary of my sermons each week.  It’s my hope and prayer that today you find inspiration in something you hear only so that you can live out your life as a fully devoted follower of Jesus empowered by the Holy Spirit! 

 

Have you ever noticed that we’ve never had more apps, devices and technology to save time… and yet we are still super busy in our lives?

 

A recent survey of over 20,000 Christians across 139 countries found that more than 4 in 10 believers say they often rush from task to task. Six out of ten say the busyness of life regularly gets in the way of their relationship with God.

 

We are busy.

We are tired.

And if we’re honest—many of us are depleted.

 

In an average 70-year lifespan, we spend 21 years sleeping, 14 years working, 6 years eating, 6 years traveling, and even a full year just looking for lost keys and phones. And that doesn’t include the emotional weight we carry every day.

 

Add to that smartphones, apps, AI, constant notifications—and somehow life feels like it’s spinning even faster.

 

We invented calendars.

We invented alarms.

We invented productivity apps.

And yet our souls are restless.

 

The irony is strong. For  this isn’t new. From the very beginning, God built a rhythm into creation called Sabbath. After six days of forming the world, God rested—not because He was tired, but because He was teaching us something. Rest wasn’t a reward for work. It was a gift. A rhythm. A way of living in trust.

 

Sin disrupted that rhythm. Rest became toil. Joyful partnership with God became exhausting in endless striving.

 

When God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt, He reintroduced the Sabbath as a declaration: You are no longer slaves. Rest now became an act of faith—a reminder that God is the Provider, Redeemer and Rescuer!

 

But over time, even Sabbath became heavy. Regulated. Complicated. Burdensome.

 

Then Jesus came.

 

And He didn’t just teach about rest—He became our rest.  Rest was not about stopping activity, it was about pursuing a relationship.

 

He said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

 

Notice what He didn’t say.

He didn’t say, “Fix yourself first.”

He didn’t say, “Try harder.”

He didn’t say, “Be better.”

 

He said, “Come.”

 

There are different kinds of exhaustion.

 

Some of us are overworked, like Martha—doing good things, but missing the Better part at Jesus’ feet like Mary found.

 

Some of us are battle-weary—fighting spiritual battles in our own strength, in our flesh and in our own physical power.

 

Some are wounded, carrying shame or pain we’ve tried to hide from sin and mistakes that seem to heavy to bear.

 

Some are overstimulated, pulled in a hundred different directions by a world that is constantly demands more and exasperating our very souls.

 

And some are just spiritually exhausted—trying to carry these burdens God never asked us to carry.

 

Jesus says, “Take My yoke upon you.”

 

What is His yoke?

 

It means you are joined to a God who is sovereign—you don’t have to control everything.

You are connected to a God who is providential—you don’t have to fix and provide everything.

And you are linked up with a God who is compassionate—so you don’t have to perform or earn His love.

 

Hebrews says there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God—and we enter that rest by faith.

 

Saint Augustine once said, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

 

Maybe the reason vacations haven’t fixed it…

Maybe the reason days off haven’t healed it…

Is because true rest isn’t found in stopping activity alone—it’s found in trusting Christ fully.

 

If your soul feels restless today, Jesus is still saying the same thing:

 

“Come to Me.”

 

Rest is not a day on the calendar.

It’s a Person.

 

And His rest is still available today. And maybe for some of you listening, this isn’t just about slowing down.

 

It’s about surrender.

 

Maybe you’ve been carrying regret you can’t undo…

Wounds you didn’t deserve…

Anxiety you can’t silence…

Sin you can’t shake…

 

And the exhausting part isn’t just the weight—

It’s how long you’ve been carrying it alone.

 

Jesus doesn’t say, “Clean yourself up first.”

He says, “Come.”

 

Salvation doesn’t begin with effort.

It begins with surrender.

 

If you’ve never truly given your life to Jesus…

Or maybe you did once, but somewhere along the way you picked the baggage back up…

Right now, you can come back.

 

If you’re ready to lay your burdens down and receive His forgiveness and His rest, I want to pray with you.

 

Right where you are—driving, walking, sitting at home—just pray this in your heart:

 

Jesus,

I come to You just as I am.

I’m tired of carrying what I was never meant to carry.

I believe You died for my sins

and rose again to give me new life.

 

Forgive me.

Heal me.

Restore me.

Today I lay my baggage down.

I receive Your grace.

I receive Your rest.

Be my Savior.

Be my Lord.

 

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

 

If you just prayed that prayer, that’s not the end—that’s the beginning. Reach out to a Bible-believing church, tell someone you trust, and start walking daily with Jesus.

 

Friend, real rest is found in Him.

And He is still saying,

“Come.”

 

Hey I hope that you found something today that inspired your heart and your faith in Christ.  If you liked what you heard, please subscribe or leave a comment.  God loves you and if you are looking for a church, please visit Awaken church online at awakenrome.com for more information or better yet come visit us on on a Sunday morning @ 10am. Live like your blessed and covered by God’s favor Today.  Thanks for listening.