The season before your post-secondary transition can feel like one of the busiest seasons of life. And you might wonder. “Does the busyness ever end? Am I going to burn out!?
Let’s pause here. Breathe and take a moment of rest with Jesus and with me.
Before your thoughts spiral, I invite you to consider what life would be like if rest were a regular rhythm for us. Something I have learned is that when students intentionally develop rhythms of rest, moments of pause like this can point away from the stress of school, and back to our Saviour. Let’s unwrap more of this together!
My Wrestling With Rest and How God Pointed Me Back to His Working
In all honesty, I wrestled deeply to develop rhythms of rest before my university transition. I recall having false expectations of myself that prevented me from fully being able to rest with God. My misconceived notions were:
1) Rest is for the weak
2) Rest with God comes after I have achieved my peak
3) Rest is boring and bleak
After being tired and worn in many seasons, God has continuously invited me to slow down so that I could stop and rest in his presence.
When I was in grade 12, I had good grades and was highly involved in extracurricular activities. I measured my strength by my ability to work to get into a top university. Rest just seemed like something that people only participated in when they were failing or had lost their motivation in school.
Yet, as strong as I thought I was, I suddenly started to struggle with mental health as I prepared to apply for post-secondary schooling. I felt burnt out, and the drop in my grades brought a bone-deep sense of unrest. I felt weak.
Around the same time, my youth leader began noticing that I was struggling, and spoke with me about taking a Sabbath – an intentional time of rest in God’s presence. At first, I pretended that I didn’t need rest. But internally, I felt like I had to wrestle with myself to improve my circumstances before I could sit and be worthy to face God. Another week, my youth leader challenged me to pause, breathe, and take a moment of rest with Jesus, and hear from him in his word. Reading Psalm 23, Jesus kept inviting me into his rest, reminding me that he was my Good Shepherd.
Even when I was not working, God made even the worst of circumstances work out for good. While I learned this once, I had to learn and wrestle with this truth many times over. Primarily because rest felt boring, and it felt more satisfying to be busy all of the time.
Now, when I rest, I set boundaries with work. While resting, I take time to play, be present, and nurture what satisfies my soul. When we take a pause from the “have to’s” and make space for the “get to’s,” we can experience a deep sense of peace, understanding who our God is and what He has called us to steward in our work.
How Can We Pause With Prayer?
Do you ever feel like I did and have a deep desire to rest, but feel unsure on how? Especially in this day and age, where distractions are pervasive, rest can be difficult. But we can choose to grow an interest and a Spirit-led intentionality to develop rhythms of rest. Some of 2025’s NEXT Steps Awards Recipients are already doing this practically in their prayer lives.
Samantha asked us to partner with her to pray that “[she] will be able to focus on staying present instead of living for the future…[that she] wants to take each moment, class, work day, and period of rest, as a gift from God. (77)
Anson shared with us that “amidst a busy schedule, [he’s] praying for comfort and time management as [he] managesthe workload of engineering.” (63)
Davis prays, “That[he]would remember to eat well and take[his]time with [his] busy schedule.” (15)
Prayer is important because it helps us to be present with God and acknowledge the truth that He is in control, especially when we feel like we are not.
As you consider how to pray to lean on God for rest, I invite you to reflect on these questions.
What is something that I can trust in God for today? What are some areas of my life I can trust in God for more?
Are there areas in which I am placing too much trust in my own strength?
How does God see the value of my work? How does this change the way I see my work?
When I feel like I am lacking rest, how can I set boundaries that help me remember that God is in control of my circumstances?
Want to learn more about how to pray and reflect on rest? I recommend this article written by P2C’s Spiritual Care and Development Team: https://p2cstudents.com/training/come-and-rest-reflection-and-prayer-guide
My Top Tips To Beat Stress!
Here are two ideas that helped me understand rest, both in how I experience rest in God and how I plan for times of rest.
Rest In God:
One resource that helped me to examine my quiet time with God was Gary Thomas’ book, “Sacred Pathways.” In his book, he wrote about 9 Ways to Connect with God. Thomas suggests that there are nine ways that people can experience their quiet time with God. They are…
Experiencing God through Nature
Experiencing God through Sensory Experiences
Experiencing God through Religious Traditions and Rituals
Experiencing God through Simplicity and Silence
Experiencing God through Serving the Vulnerable
Experiencing God through Caring for Others
Experiencing God through Corporate Fellowship and Worship
Experiencing God through Solitude and Reflective Practices
Experiencing God through Learning and Study of Scripture and The World
Which pathway do you relate most to? There are lots of great little self-assessment quizzes out there like this one. Try it out to discern ways you can enjoy resting in God.
While I may not fully agree with categorizing myself according to the philosophy or belief systems aligned with this resource, Thomas’ frameworks helped me consider how I could spend time with God in ways that help me know more about God’s character and heart for the world.
P2C also has some resources that help explore this topic of finding rest in God’s presence here: https://p2cstudents.com/articles/we-can-find-rest-in-gods-presence. Remembering that rest involves being in God’s presence personally helped take the pressure off of “finding things to do that were restful,” and more like an experience of spending time with someone who cares for me.
2. Make Time For Rest!
Rest was not something I naturally felt inclined to do. But I had a perfect example to look at in scripture! We see Jesus practice this intentionally, spending times of rest away from his ministry. In Mark 1:35, we see how Jesus rises early to commune with his heavenly father. While I am not much of a morning person, I have had to learn to develop a routine around my time with God. For me this looks like, starting my early mornings reading the Bible and praying. This habit can help reduce distractions that get in the way of your rest and set practical boundaries for how you use your time.
Something that often helps busy people dedicate time to rest is practicing Sabbath. P2C-Students has a podcast episode that helps listeners explore Sabbath for themselves in just 7 minutes. I recommend a listen: https://p2cstudents.com/podcasts/minisode-let-us-sabbath-together
When you put God at the centre of your schedule, the ripple effects of resting well can lead to a life of flourishing. Hopefully, some of what I have shared can shed some light on how you can explore rest for yourself!
BIO:
Danielle is an alumnus of the NEXT Steps awards and Power to Change at the University of Toronto. She now works as a Student Success Advisor at Toronto Metropolitan University, supporting students' transition to post-secondary life. She is an enthusiastic follower of Jesus who enjoys mentorship, creative arts, good food, and the great outdoors!
Notes
Photo by Jon Flobrant on Unsplash
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