Resting in God’s Wild Love: Finding Peace in a Restless World

Our world offers many types of rest—Netflix binges, social media scrolling, vacation getaways, and that ever-elusive “me time.”Yet despite these momentary pauses, we find ourselves more exhausted than ever. The American Psychological Association reports that 74% of adults experience stress that overwhelms their ability to cope.

What if the rest we’re seeking isn't found in escaping our reality but in entering a deeper one? What if true peace isn’t the absence of turbulence but the presence of something—Someone—greater?

God’s love offers a paradoxical rest: it’s both fiercer and gentler than anything this world provides. It doesn’t demand that we earn it, achieve it, or perfect ourselves to deserve it. Instead, it invites us to simply receive it, to let it wash over our weary souls like waves reshaping the shoreline.

In this blog, we’ll explore how to find genuine peace not by running from life’s demands but by resting in the unfathomable love that holds all things together, even when they seem to be falling apart.

This is part four in a series of blogs. Previously we explored: SEE—the beauty of God’s character, MEDITATE—on what you SEE, ACCEPT—it as your very own. In this blog we explore REST—in the daily rythmn of being fully known and fully loved by God. These four principles (SMAR) work together to transform your life.

Our Universal Need for Love

“God is love” (1 John 4:8, NIV), and He has wired us for it. To love and be loved is what our hearts long for. This isn’t just spiritual poetry—science increasingly confirms this deep human wiring.

Dr. Dean Ornish, in his national bestseller *Love and Survival*, presents study after study demonstrating this reality. He makes the compelling case that love is the primary factor determining our mental, emotional, and even physical health:

“I have found that perhaps the most powerful intervention... is the healing power of love and intimacy, and the emotional and spiritual transformation that often result from these.... I am not aware of any other factor in medicine—not diet, not smoking, not exercise, not stress, not genetics, not drugs, not surgery—that has a greater impact on our quality of life, incidence of illness, and premature death from all causes.”

Ornish further observes:

“Anything that promotes feelings of love and intimacy is healing. Anything that promotes isolation, separation, loneliness, loss, hostility, anger, cynicism, depression, alienation and related feelings often leads to suffering, disease, and premature death from all causes.”

After years spent in compassionate care for those suffering from disease, Mother Teresa shared this profound insight:

“The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love.”

While millions suffer from food insecurity, even more are dying from a lack of love.

Finding Rest in Divine Love

This desire to receive and give love is most deeply satisfied when we live in the rhythm of God’s wild love—both receiving and giving it.

The night before Jesus died, he made this incredible claim in his prayer: “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3, NIV). Jesus doesn’t view eternal life merely in terms of lifespan, but relationship. Knowing God personally, deeply—becoming experientially immersed in the reality of his love—is, according to Jesus, the highest realization of human existence.

As George Müller reminds us: “Let not the consciousness of your entire unworthiness keep you, dear reader, from believing what God has said concerning you.”

Moving from Knowledge to Rhythm

In our last blog on ACCEPT we learned about re-writing the thought patterns that shape our lives. Now, we move beyond simply accepting these truths and into a daily life-rhythm formed by them—a rhythm of rest, fully releasing ourselves to the magnificent, grounding truth of God’s untamed love.

Ann Voskamp beautifully captures this REST:

"Humbly let go. Let go of trying to do, let go of trying to control...let go of my own way, let go of my own fears. Let God blow His wind, His trials, oxygen for joy's fire. Leave the hand open and be. Be at peace. Bend the knee and be small and let God give what God chooses to give because He only gives love and whisper a surprised thanks. This is the fuel for joy's flame. Fullness of joy is discovered only in the emptying of will. And I can empty. I can empty because counting His graces has awakened me to how He cherishes me, holds me, passionately values me. I can empty because I am full of His love. I can trust."

God’s Promise of Rest

God himself offers this restful rhythm throughout Scripture:

“My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest” (Exodus 33:14, NIV).

Jesus elaborates: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27, NLT).

This rhythm of rest in God’s love frees us to live lives of radical love for others because we’re living from the abundance of God’s unconditional love for us. We can stop spending our days desperately searching for something to fill our longing for love, acceptance, and value because we're at rest in the steady reality of God’s love.

An Invitation to Rest

To a tired, worn-out crowd, Jesus extended a gentle invitation: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NIV). This same invitation extends to you now, in this moment, at every moment—a life of deep, soul-satisfying rest.

No more shame. No more hiding. No more running. No more empty-handed searching.

To enter this rest is our work: “So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God's rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:9–11, NLT).

Practical Steps to Enter God's Rest

1. Begin with gratitude: Cultivate the habit of starting each day by expressing gratitude to God for his goodness. Express how he delights you and how delighted you are that he is always present, even when you’re unaware.

2. Find your quiet place: Jesus woke up each day and found a quiet place to pray (Mark 1:35). Find yours.

3. Nourish your spirit daily: Just as we need daily food to live, we need spiritual nourishment. Develop a practice of daily time in Scripture to quench your deep heart-thirst with God’s love.

4. Practice SMAR-See, Meditate, Accept and Rest. The SMAR framework is practical and accessible. Unlike complicated spiritual systems that can leave us overwhelmed, SMAR offers four simple, interconnected practices that build upon each other, giving birth to lasting change.

How SMAR Works Together

While each practice is powerful on its own, the true transformation happens when they work in harmony:

See → Meditate → Accept → Rest

This sequence creates a positive, catalytic dynamic in your spiritual journey:

First, you See the beauty of God’s character, challenging distorted images you've carried.
Then, you Meditate on this truth, allowing it to move from intellectual understanding to heart knowledge.
Next, you Accept this love as your reality, actively replacing old thought patterns with new ones.
Finally, you Rest in this love, living a love-shaped life from a place of security rather than trying hard.

As you rest, you naturally begin to see more clearly, which deepens your meditation, strengthens your acceptance, and allows for more profound rest—creating an unfolding dynamic of transformation, like the gentle blooming of a beautiful flower