How do you find rest for your weary soul when life demands so much of your time and resources?
Over the weekend, more than 200 attended a women’s conference at the Billy Graham Library to hear Ruth Chou Simons address that very question.
“Let’s agree that rest is hard for all of us,” she said.
A young mom of two boys nodded in agreement from the audience. “It’s so hard to find the time to just stop,” she said later. “There are meals to make, places to go, and errands to run.”
As a wife and mother of six, Ruth understands the dilemma. “But I want you to know that it’s not just physical rest that we are seeking,” she continued. “We need more. True and lasting peace is what our hearts are after [and that] is found only in Jesus Christ. …
“You must set aside time to rest. Rest [in God] is restorative,” Ruth added, insisting that it’s absolutely necessary to recharge and to acknowledge our dependence on God.
Nearly a year ago, her 18-year-old son Judah was involved in a serious mountain bike accident that resulted in multiple fractured vertebrae, internal bleeding, and damage to his spinal cord. As the medical team worked, the family learned to push away anxious thoughts and wait on the Lord instead, praying and trusting in His sovereign care for Judah.
Today, Judah is fully healed and accompanied his mother to last weekend’s event.
Pointing to Luke 12:22–27, Ruth shared that worry, stress, and anxiety will not add one measure to our lives. “Rest is really a heart issue,” she noted.
Living in a culture where hustle is honourable and slowing down is considered a weakness, she urged the audience to go against the grain.
“Where do you cut corners on rest?” she asked.
One attendee admitted that she’s reluctant to cut back on her work hours, which is hurting her marriage. “It’s so hard to say, ‘It’s enough.’ There is always more to do.”
Looking out at the audience, Ruth asked, “Friends, where are you striving in your own strength and not resting in God’s power and strength? … Is not our God a Father with open, gentle arms? Or do you see Him as a Father asking you to earn His love?”
That question hit home with one woman who grew up as a rule follower. She said she struggles with that same perfectionist mindset as an adult and appreciated Ruth’s gentle nudge to understand the depth of God’s love for His children.
“Will you give up on carrying it all, working harder, and striving for more?” Ruth asked. “It’s God’s kindness that you cannot carry life’s burdens on your shoulders. We are human and we need a Saviour. His name is Jesus.”
She went on to encourage the crowd that God’s rest can be experienced even in times of sorrow.
One woman’s eyes welled with tears, remembering how she felt God’s presence and peace when her husband unexpectedly passed away a few years ago. “It was a shock,” she said. “Yet in the midst, I knew God was with me.”
The event wrapped up with Ruth’s challenge for each participant to establish daily rhythms of rest.
“Instead of worry, friends, can you pray?” she asked gently. Finding set times to put away our devices, practicing a weekly Sabbath, and getting involved in a church are other ways to help focus on our Creator.
“True rest—ceasing from work and being still in the Lord—is not a luxury; it’s the Christian life,” she said.
