Come, All You Hustlers

We enter the final weeks of summer, continuing to hold and savor the many delights this season offers. One last trip, a fire pit with friends, or a quick outing with the family. We harvest the bounty from our gardens.

And the word rest floats on the breeze, calling us back to Eden.

As the six of us respond to the theme of Rest, what is emerging in your own soul? We finish with a blessing from Renee:

Once upon a time when God walked on this earth, He invited the burdened and exhausted to come to Him and find rest.

Come, all you hustlers.

Come, those driven by fear of failure, fear of condemnation, fear of rejection and abandonment, fear of death. Come, you who are driven by competition, comparison, and perfectionism.

The world says more, more, you need more. Do more, be more, have more. There is always more. It’s exhausting.

Grab and take and grasp. Keep pushing, keep striving, keep working. Beg, steal or borrow for more influence, more power, more relevance.

The world says there is no time for rest.

Stop. Come and surrender all that drives you away from rest. Come away from the voices shouting hustle! prove yourself! run! hurry!

Come away for a moment and rest. Come away and slow down. Come and breathe 3 deep, slow breaths.

Come. Hear Jesus inviting you, the weary and worn, to the unforced rhythms of grace.

Come and rest from worry, fear, the need to be liked and fit in. Come away from the lie that we’re on our own, from responsibility for outcomes, from managing others’ behavior and responses. Come and rest from speculating about the future, from taking yourself so seriously, from building your own kingdom.

Come and rest from the ancient lie that we are on our own.

Come to Jesus with open hands, open hearts, open minds and open imaginations. Come to the rest waiting for you.

Come and rest.

Find rest in wild places. Create rhythms of rest in stillness and movement. Let rising dough and the aroma of baking bread invite you to rest in the cadence of daily life. Let rest be your bedrock. Rest in your decisions.

Rest.

Embrace the joyful freedom to be present in the here and now.

Rest, knowing your main responsibility is to love and be loved.

Come, all you hustlers, and rest.

Renee Meyer is a hospice and hospital chaplain, as well as a spiritual director and writer helping you connect more deeply with God, yourself, and those around you. She lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with her family and writes a bi-monthly newsletter right here on Substack, Belonging & Becoming. Connect with her at ReneeDavisMeyer.com, on Instagram at Belonging & Becoming, and join her on TikTok to pause and pray in the midst of scrolling.