I am retired now, and with retirement comes its own challenges. But today, I am reminiscing about working. I hear young friends talk about the pressures of raising children, maintaining their homes, and, for some, even working outside their homes. I was a working mom. It’s the memory of Sundays that prompts this post …
The weight of the week pressed down like an invisible burden. Deadlines loomed, responsibilities piled up, and my mind raced on even in moments of stillness. Have I done enough? Am I keeping up? What if I fall behind?
One Sunday morning, I sat in church, exhausted—not just in body but soul. As the sermon began, the pastor read from Hebrews 4:9–10:
“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His.”
The pastor emphasized that the Sabbath wasn’t just about taking a break. It was about learning to stop striving.
Tim Keller once wrote:
“Thus, Sabbath is about more than the external rest of the body; it is about the inner rest of the soul. We need rest from the anxiety and strain of our overwork, which is really an attempt to justify ourselves—to gain the money or the status or the reputation we think we have to have. Avoiding overwork requires deep rest in Christ’s finished work for your salvation (Hebrews 4:1–10). Only then will you be able to ‘walk away’ regularly from your vocational work and rest.”
I closed my eyes. How often had I treated rest as a reward—something to be earned only after I had done enough? But Jesus spoke different words:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
This is not the kind of rest that comes from a vacation or a cleared to-do list. This is rest in Christ’s finished work—a deep, soul-level peace that silences the inner voice whispering …You haven’t done enough.
The Gospel declares: You don’t have to prove yourself. You don’t have to strive to earn love. It is finished.
True Sabbath is more than stopping work—it is resting in Jesus.
A Sunday Reflection
Lent is a season of letting go, of surrendering what weighs us down. Today, pause and ask yourself:
- Has Jesus already lifted the burden I’m trying to carry?
- Am I striving for approval when Christ has already secured it?
- Do I truly trust God enough to leave my work behind, both in body and mind, knowing He holds my life in His hands?
Let’s step into the rest that only Jesus gives.
Prayer
God, You who rested from Your work,
The completion of our redemption –
The invitation of an easy yoke –
Following the One who knows the way —
May we surrender our false sense of control
The need to prove ourselves
The need to make our way in the world —
And instead, teach us to believe –
To believe that the real work, the work that really matters—
Is complete in You.
And because You are sovereign, the One truly in control
We choose rest today –
For Your glory and our good. Amen.
