Learning to rest before you run dry
My feet reminded me I am human. After hours of walking at the event, camera in hand, I could feel the fatigue spreading through my body, one of which I’ve been pushing through for weeks. Between writing, serving, cooking, cleaning, and praying, I realized I’ve been living like a well that keeps pouring without pausing to refill.
Somewhere between exhaustion and obedience, this scripture stopped me in my tracks:
“The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” — Isaiah 58:11 (NIV)
That verse felt like balm on cracked soil.
The Desert of Doing
I’ve been moving nonstop, trying to stay productive, faithful, responsible, creative, all at once. But lately, I’ve felt like my body and soul are running on fumes. Even my prayers have become multitasking moments: whispered between tasks, instead of steeped in stillness.
The truth is, exhaustion doesn’t always come from overwork. Sometimes it comes from carrying what God never asked us to carry alone. As Corrie Ten Boom once said,
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.”
God isn’t asking me to produce. He’s inviting me to receive. To let Him satisfy what my striving cannot.
The Invitation to Water
That’s what Isaiah 58:11 is about. God doesn’t call us to wither in devotion; He calls us to flourish in dependence. He promises to satisfy and strengthen, not after we’ve proven ourselves, but because we belong to Him.
“A well-watered garden” is not a passive phrase. It’s tended, replenished, flourishing from within. Gardens don’t rush. They rest in seasons, trusting the Sun and Rain to do their part.
Dallas Willard once said,
“Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.”
Maybe that’s my next spiritual practice: not producing more, but pausing longer. Maybe rest is the most faithful thing I can do this week.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28,
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
He didn’t say, ‘Work harder and you’ll earn rest.’ He said, ‘Come.’
Self Assessment Questions
1. What does true rest look like for you right now?
2. Where in your life have you been pouring more than you’ve been receiving?
3. How can you make room for God to refill you this week?
Final Thoughts
Rest is not something I have to deserve. It’s something I need to receive. Maybe this is what it means to live as a “well-watered garden,” not striving for constant bloom, but trusting the rhythm of replenishment. Even gardens have seasons of stillness. Even Jesus withdrew to rest.
So if you’re deep tired, don’t shame yourself for needing to stop. This is your invitation to pause, breathe, and let God fill the cracks that hurry has emptied.
“Come away by yourselves to a quiet place and rest a while.” — Mark 6:31
The world will keep spinning without your supervision. But your soul? It needs stillness to survive.
© 2025 Amelie Chambord
Soul Path Insights 
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