4–6 minutes

This summer, the women’s ministry at my church has been discussing rest. The more we talked, the more we began to realize just how elusive rest can be. We all had different schedules, personalities, and pressures, but we shared a common ache: a longing for real rest that doesn’t wear off.

Isn’t it amazing that, in an age where everything is just a tap away, rest still feels out of reach? Scroll through social media and you’ll see that we talk about rest more than we actually experience it. We’re flooded with tips, methods, and strategies. And yet, those suggestions often leave us feeling misunderstood (“That doesn’t actually make me feel rested”), guilty (“Why can’t I make time for that?”), or disappointed (“It worked for a while, but now it doesn’t”). With thousands of ways to unwind, why does it still feel like nothing quite gives us that deep exhale we’re longing for?

In part, it’s because we’re asking something to give us rest that was never meant to. Rest isn’t a strategy to perfect; it’s a person to know. Psalm 121 reminds us that true rest is rooted not in what we do but in who God is. This psalm reveals three key insights that help us experience that rest. One is a posture we are called to take, and the other two are characteristics of God that invite us to trust Him. And through that trust, we can finally find the exhale we’ve been longing for.

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
   From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
   who made heaven and earth.
(Psalm 121: 1-2)

The psalmist begins with a question: “Where does my help come from?” There’s comfort in that. The question implies trouble, work to be done, and a need for help. The psalmist doesn’t deny reality; he names it. In doing so, he gives us permission to do the same.

The key is the direction of his gaze. “I lift my eyes…” Rest begins when we look up and choose to place our attention on God. We lift our eyes not to our to-do list, not to a self-help plan, and not even to a peaceful mountain scene. We lift them to the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

He Never Sleeps

He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.
(Psalm 121: 3-4)

Verses 3 and 4 are deeply relieving: He does not sleep. Praise the Lord. This is an attribute we do not share. We need sleep. Our bodies have limits. At some point each day, we have to stop. And if we were the ones holding everything together, that would be terrifying, because we know the list of to-dos is never-ending. There’s always more to manage, more to fix, more to anticipate. But here we’re reminded: we can stop, because God never does.

But the psalmist reminds us of something better: “He who watches over you will not slumber.” God doesn’t sleep because He never stops working for His children. The All-Powerful doesn’t take breaks. He is never overwhelmed. You don’t have to scrutinize every variable. He has already seen every outcome, and He will not let your foot slip.

While we sleep, He stands watch. The invitation is clear: we can rest, not because everything is finished, but because God never stops being faithful.

He’s Steady

The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.
(Psalm 121: 5-6)

Verses 6 and 7 speak of God’s protection: “The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life.” This is the language of time, of life unfolding across long days and quiet nights.

If you’ve walked with God for any length of time, you know that joys and sorrows rise and fall. Life doesn’t slow down. But these verses remind us that nothing touches us without first passing through the hands of our Keeper.

God’s protection is not seasonal or situational. It is steady and complete, and because He is steady and complete. Day and night. In the heat of the sun and in the stillness of the dark, He keeps your life.

Rest Found

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
(Psalm 121: 7-8)

Rest is found in remembering who God is. Taking a walk, turning off social media, and picking up a hobby can all be good avenues for rest. But if we ask those things to be our rest, we’ll come up empty. They are not the source. At best, they are space makers and opportunities to remember the One who is.

Psalm 121 doesn’t give us methods. It gives us reasons. Reasons to place our rest in God. The final verse declares, “The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.” That is a promise we can build our lives on.

And we have even greater assurance in Jesus. In Matthew 11:28, Christ says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Jesus did what we never could. He secured our place with the Father so that we could live in the safety of His presence, both now and forever. Real rest is not something we earn or manufacture. It is a gift, found in Him. And He is always enough for our weary souls.

Kassie McDowell