Friends, here is an important and timely question: where does your soul find rest? Who, or what, is your rock and salvation? Your fortress?

Rest seems to be a hot commodity right now. Sleep aids are estimated to be a 65 billion dollar market, and insomnia is being identified as a public health issue in America. I think it is fair to say that a sense of restlessness pervades our culture.

So how about you? Are you plagued by unrest, by restlessness? Or is your soul at rest?

The psalmist has a word for the weary. He understands what it is like to be assaulted and assailed from every direction, to feel shaken to the core, and to cry out for help and relief—for rest. And this psalm suggests that he also knows the temptation to seek a sense of security in the false gods of wealth and power. He cautions against that temptation, because these things are not soul-giving, and rest will not be found in them.

Rest is found in God. As disciples of Christ, we are called to make God our fortress, our rock and salvation, and thereby, our rest—not wealth or power, not material possessions, or governments, or Facebook friends who agree with us about everything. We may seek peace and rest from all of these things, but we will not find it. Our souls find rest in God. I don’t think that means we are promised physical comfort, or even physical protection. In fact, I think finding true rest means surrendering all of our fears to God, even our fears for our physical well-being. But we are offered rest for our souls when we lose our “selves” by seeking and surrendering to God.

So today, where are you seeking rest? And where might you find it?

God, our rock and salvation, our holy fortress, you desire to give us rest. May we give ourselves and all of our cares and fears to you, that our souls might find peace in your presence. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.