Reflection for May 2026
Take a real rest
When did you last ‘rest’? Perhaps last night, lying comfortably with TV, phone and lights off – but maybe rest still took a while to come to you. Perhaps it was walking out into nature and letting the colours of the sunset refresh your mind… or maybe you spotted a butterfly gently pulsing its wings in the warming sunshine, and you stopped long enough to enjoy that silent display. Sometimes we rest after a deadline – the pressure is off and there’s that deliberate exhale. Maybe we rest when we place our hand into His hand and feel the stress transfer onto His shoulders.
In all these examples, we had to ‘do’, or stop ‘doing’ something, and rest came as something of a gift (sometimes unexpected), always refreshing. Clear a space, find the gift of rest.
We yearn for rest. Not convinced? Think of all the adverts that sell by stirring this desire in us – travel packages promise a ‘get away’, insurance policies promise ‘peace of mind’, bed or pillow people promise sweet dreams, and Sky can take us to endless entertainment.
God knows how hard it is to rest. If we think about the 10 commandments as being ‘laws’ that make life work, even flourish… then it’s interesting that one of them addresses our deep appetite for rest and restoration. Remember the Sabbath. 6 days of work. 1 day of rest. God did. We need it.
We need permission to rest. Maybe our employer, our spouse, our children, our friends give us this. What stops us giving it to ourselves? Normally ‘good’ things, like values that we subconsciously absorbed (always being busy, or answering texts immediately), values that serve us well 6 days a week, but need to be subjected to a greater authority if we’re going to rest. God gives us that permission.
Rest reminds us that, however consuming our ‘work’, or ‘worries’ are, they don’t take over our lives because we can STOP. But to do that, we need to switch off the lights/screens/notifications, we need to exhale the worries & pressures that we’ve been storing up, we need to have the courage to put our hand into our heavenly Father’s hand, take our stand next to Jesus and feel him lift our yoke. We need to deliberately stop long enough to smell the roses, notice those silent butterfly wings, and receive God’s permission, even command, to stop. Stop for long enough for my body and soul to remember that work and worries do not define me.
“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.” Mt 12.28-30 (The Message).
John-Mark Molyneux