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Sabbath Devotional: Rest

I have been recovering from a very intense and busy semester and just drove cross-country this week to my internship and new home base for the summer. A few of my driving days took a bit longer than expected as I took several stops to nap as even on a full night of sleep, I was somehow still so exhausted. A friend reminded me that recovering from my considerable sleep debt of the semester may take some time — I had a lot of long days and late nights throughout my semester, and a lot more frequently towards the end. As I have been working to build better habits around rest and sleep, I have been thinking about the concept of rest more broadly and have been revisiting teachings about the Savior’s rest.


I really love this message from Sister Kristin Yee, which is directed to the women of the church, in which she focuses on “The Blessing of Covenant Rest.”


Her message includes many reminders of things I’m sure we have all heard before, but they were good reminders for me, nonetheless. As I read her message, I was also struck by the connection between these physical and spiritual concepts of rest and how, although distinct from one another, they are related in certain important ways. Sister Yee says “As covenant women, we have the blessing of God’s priesthood power through honoring our covenants. His power can help us receive expanded capacity and wisdom to know “what is needful” and to not “run faster than [we] are able.””


I was struck by this direct connection between our spiritual discernment and access to God’s power, and how this spiritual dimension can help to appropriately direct and commit our physical efforts.


Sister Yee also quotes a 2022 talk by President Nelson: “Despite the distractions and distortions that swirl around us, you can find true rest — meaning relief and peace — even amid your most vexing problems.” As women striving to build peace, it is not lost on me how important it is that we foster peace within our own lives — again, creating the contemplative inner space to allow the Spirit to act in our lives and help us with our discernment and decision-making is vital for us to contribute toward our broader work of peacemaking in the world around us. Our access to the Savior’s peace can help ground us and guide us, resonating with our broader and outward work of being peacemakers.


As I am starting the summer with a renewed commitment to sleep hygiene, good routines, and other aspects of my physical health and well-being, I have also been thinking about how I can tie these habits to spiritual ones that will continue to ground me and sustain me through various challenges of life and work (MWEG and otherwise).


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Elizabeth VanDerwerken is the proactive root director at Mormon Women for Ethical Government.

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