How To Find Soul Rest
Do you long to find rest for your soul? We search to find a sacred place away from the cares and concerns of this life and where all is well. Our crammed schedules and overpacked lives result in a flurry of activity that can leave us completely depleted. When we feel overwhelmed, do we know how to find soul rest? Together lets dig into what soul rest is, learn how to rest well, and ways to practice stillness.
My Dad had a great sense of humor. Sometimes, when we were all together, he would suddenly say, “Shhh!!! Do you hear that?” We would all quickly freeze, fall into silence, listen intently, and try to discern what it was that we were supposed to hear. We sat in silence, waiting… waiting… Then he would smile and say “Quiet, isn’t it?” We would all groan and roll our eyes. Dad was a funny guy.
But as I look back on it now, it makes me think. How often do I fall into silence to really listen to God? How often do I intentionally stop what I am doing for more than just a moment to inquire of Him and then wait quietly to really listen for His reply? …Wait for as long as it takes. Do I ask and then wiggle impatiently, expecting an immediate response?

If we’re honest, it’s likely that we often feel like life is on ‘fast-forward’ and we can barely catch our breath. We feel rushed and pressured, but if pressed, we can’t really point to anything specific we’re rushing from…or towards? We just chalk it up to ‘life is crazy right now’. But when we do stop, we find it difficult to sit in the quiet because our mind is racing, and our heart just can’t settle. We tend toward a perpetual state of anxiousness.
Our culture of ‘instant everything’ has bruised our ability to enjoy soul rest; to quietly wait, to rest and trust God and His process, to settle ourselves for the wait without being anxious. Our inability to rest and wait impacts our soul. We can’t spiritually wait and rest in the Lord because we’re always striving.
“Soul rest” Do those words stir a longing in your heart? Whisper that to yourself, out loud….‘soul rest’……….’soul’………’rest’. Does it make you thirst for something peaceful and calm, something that satisfies that restlessness in your inmost being?
Psalm 62:1-2 “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”
But what does the Bible say this ‘soul rest’ really is?
The word rest in Hebrew is ‘dumiya’ and it means, “silence; still waiting; confident waiting; the silent expectation of divine aid” (1). Soul rest is the ability to wait on the Lord quietly, patiently, and with hope and trust.
Maybe we’re anxious, overwhelmed, and struggle with restlessness because we don’t take time to find our rest in God alone. We are busy, driven, distracted, and always looking at our schedule. We don’t have time for much other than what’s on our agenda. But how can we afford to not take time for soul rest? Waiting on God and listening to His voice is the foundation and source of peace for our heart and mind. Everything depends on our resting in God. And everything else will fall into place when we do.
King David valued this so highly that he reminded himself more than once in Psalm 62 to find his soul rest in God alone. Verse 5 says, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.” David recognized that both his salvation and his hope were founded in being still before God and waiting on Him.

5 Ways to Rest Well and Practice the Stillness of Waiting on and Trusting in God
- Recognize that God is the only Source of peace and satisfaction. He alone can provide soul rest. Don’t look to other people, activities, or things to fill what only God can fill in you. Some of Jesus’ many disciples (other than the twelve) began to turn away because they didn’t hear what they wanted to hear. Jesus asked the twelve, will you leave, too? Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” John 6:68 Let’s embrace Jesus as the Source of soul rest.
- Practice being still and quiet. Soul rest comes when we turn off the noise and listen for God’s voice. But if we’re so busy talking, we’re not listening. We need to be intentional in our prayer time to not just talk to the Lord, but to pause and listen. Ecclesiastes 5:2 “Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.”
- Find our hope in God’s Word. Psalm 130:5 “Wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in His Word I put my hope.” That word “hope” is the word “tiqva” in Hebrew and it means “a cord (as an attachment), a thing longed for (2). What are we holding onto? What is our ‘cord’? Is it Jesus and His Word or is it something inferior? One practice that can be transformational is reading 5 chapters of the Book of Psalms each day. So, on the first of the month, read Psalm 1, 31, 61, 91, 121 and progress from there and repeat each month. When we spend time with the Lord in His word we will enjoy a stillness that transforms our soul. His Word transforms. Let it support our soul rest.
- Understand that it’s a spiritual battle. The enemy wants us to be anxious, busy, and our head and heart filled with noise. Satan is not a supporter of soul rest. We need to take every thought captive. Any time anxious thoughts fill our mind, we cannot entertain them. We must stop and turn to Scripture. Allow our soul to find rest in God alone. 2 Corinthians 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretention that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
- Cling to Jesus. Psalm 63:8 “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.” Cling tightly. Grab hold of the cord Jesus provides and don’t let go. Look to Him. Lean into Him. Trust Him for our salvation and hope. And listen to His voice. He is speaking.
If we are intentional to seek soul rest, we will be drawn to cling to God. Then the eyes of our heart will be open to see His help, His salvation, and His protection. And when our eyes are open to these things and our hearts are attuned to His voice, we will have hope.
Real hope that satisfies our soul.
Be intentional and plan a time of silence before the Lord into every day.
Enjoy soul rest. Wait quietly with expectation. He is your help and salvation.
- H1747 – dûmîyâ – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (kjv). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1747/kjv/wlc/0-1/
- H8615 – tiqvâ – Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (niv). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h8615/niv/wlc/0-1/
7 Bible Verses to Help You Find Soul Rest
- John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
- Psalm 61:2: “When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the Rock that is higher than I.”
- Psalm 4:8: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
- Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
- Colossians 3:2: “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
- Isaiah 26:3: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
- Psalm 119:15: “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.”
Meet the author
Brenda Reid
Brenda is the consummate extrovert and joyful enthusiast who has a passion to see others love Jesus deeply and authentically. She values deep conversations, especially if they include a good cup of coffee and she craves that sharpening that comes when believers dig deep into the Word to learn and discuss together. Brenda writes and manages the Join the PAC: Praying for our Adult Children blog and authored Without Ceasing: Boldly Praying Scripture for the Next Generation.