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“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.'” – Isaiah 30:15 (NIV)
Did you know that July 2nd, 2025, marked the halfway point of the year? For some of us, that fact brings excitement—we’re looking forward to August vacations, favorite holidays, and family get-togethers. For others, however, it’s easy to let this reminder bring us down. Halfway through the year is a reminder of all the could’ve and should’ve beens. All the goals we didn’t accomplish or items on our to-do list, we still need to complete. It’s easy to feel burnt out, lost, behind, and burdened by everything we’d expected to accomplish by now.
But what if this mid-year check-in isn’t meant to beat us down, but lift us up? Instead of seeing everything we haven’t done, what if we shift our gaze to everything God has already accomplished through and in us? What if we learn to see it as an opportunity for God’s grace and mercy to abound even more? In the past year, regardless of your achievements and victories, where have you seen God?
Today, God invites each of us into something deeper than the items checked off or still left on our to-do lists. He invites you and me not into a rhythm of hustle and doing or being more, but rest, repentance, quietness, and trust. As Matthew 11:28-30 continually reminds us: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (NIV).
Think back to January. For me, this marked the season my husband and I got a new dog, confirmed mold in our home, and celebrated my 28th birthday. The month was filled with highs and lows alike. But what hopes, goals, or prayers did you carry into 2025? Where have you seen God move? Where have you heard His answers to prayer? Where have you drifted from His peace?
In Isaiah 30:15, Scripture reminds us that true strength isn’t found in our to-do lists. Striving doesn’t bring the peace we’re all looking for. Stopping, pausing, and surrendering do. This week, just a few days after the midpoint of the year, take a deep breath and a spiritual inventory. Ask yourself: “Where do I need to return to rest? Where am I striving instead of resting? What areas need a “reset” that puts Jesus back at the center?”
