Write 31 Days – The Rhythm of Rest

I’ve had plenty of days when I just want the world to stop so I can get off. There’s too much happening and it’s happening too fast. I can’t keep up, and I’m tired of trying.

Do you know that feeling too?

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)

When I was introduced to the Message version of these verses a few years ago it struck me in a fresh way. The invitation to learn the unforced rhythms of grace from Jesus, to live freely and lightly. Doesn’t that sound good?

One of the things I noticed in this passage is that a real rest includes walking with Jesus and working with him. Rest isn’t just about stopping. It isn’t just about sleep, or about holidays or the Sabbath, although all those things are good. There is also rest offered in the rhythms of life, in the way we walk and go about our work each day. What does it look like to rest in the Lord, to follow his unforced rhythms of grace? That’s what I want to discover.

It’s October again and that means the Write 31 Days challenge is on, and so I’ve decided to explore The Rhythm of Rest.

The irony of writing and posting everyday on the subject of rest hasn’t escaped me, but thinking, writing and sharing about it may actually help me to make space for rest. And I need some accountability. I guess we’ll find out if the experiment works.

I’m looking forward to what might happen this month. I hope you’ll join me on the journey and share some of your own experiences and insights.

I’ll be adding a link here for each day’s post, so there’s one place to find everything together. And there will also be a button on the home page so you can easily check back here any time during the month.

Day 1 – The Rhythm of Rest
Day 2 – Rest in the Beginning
Day 3 – Slowing Down to Rest
Day 4 – My Soul Finds Rest in God
Day 5 – Putting down Roots
Day 6 – Take a Moment to Breathe
Day 7 – Giving myself Permission to Rest
Day 8 – A prayer for rest and renovation
Day 9 – When only one thing is needed
Day 10 – Come away to a quiet place and rest
Day 11 – And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy
Day 12 – The gift of sleep
Day 13 – Restless
Day 14 – Nature knows how to rest
Day 15 – Learning to rest through trust
Day 16 – When I can’t ignore my need to rest
Day 17 – He lets me rest in green meadows
Day 18 – A day of delight
Day 19 – The rest of wild flowers
Day 20 – Rest in the present
Day 21 – Made for rest
Day 22 – Some practical ideas for ways to rest
Day 23 – Remaining in the vine
Day 24 – A blessing for rest
Day 25 – Refreshing the soul
Day 26 – Resting in His presence
Day 27 – no post, just sleep!
Day 28 – Rest in the rhythm of the ebbs and flows
Day 29 – Sleeping in the storm
Day 30 – Make every effort to enter God’s rest
Day 31 – Practising the Rhythm of Rest