Return, oh my soul, to your rest for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
– Psalm 116:7
I love this verse, especially when I think about times when my heart is anxious, when I’m worried or concerned about something, or when I’m just tired and exhausted. It is good to hear God say, Psalm 116:7, “Return, oh my soul, to your rest.”
Psalm 116:7 Portrays God’s Restoring Peace
That is a clear picture of how God has designed you and me to live in a place where our souls are at rest, not worried, not anxious, not frantic, not fearful, not even exhausted, but resting in him.
“Return, oh my soul, to the rest that’s found in God, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.” Just pause when you are worried, anxious, frantic, exhausted. It is good to pause and just thank God for how He has dealt bountifully with you. Thank God. Praise God for His goodness in your life, His grace in your life. And all of a sudden you have a different perspective on things you are worried about, or anxious about, or burdened over, or exhausted because it’s good to rest in the bountiful goodness of God, in the bountiful love of God for you.
Psalm 116:7 Encourages Us to Embrace God’s Overflowing Goodness
This is the only place our souls can find rest amidst the turmoil of this world, amidst trials and challenges in this world to return continually, daily to rest in the bountiful love of God for you. Oh God, I pray this over every single person listening to this right now. I pray for rest in you. God, I pray for those who are worried, anxious, burdened, exhausted, frantic, fearful in any way. I pray that right now even they would return and their souls to rest in you to the rest that you’ve made possible for us. You’ve forgiven us of our sin. Lord, you’ve restored us to relationship with you. You’ve sealed our eternity.
We know that our sufferings here are preparing us for glory to be revealed in the future. Oh God, we rest in you, in how you have dealt bountifully with us in the past, in your promise to deal bountifully with us today, and your guarantees to deal bountifully with us in the future. We rest in you.
Praying for the Khamnigan People
God, we pray for the spread of your rest in the world among the nations. We pray today for the Khamnigan Ewenki people of Mongolia, a small people group, 3000 or so of them in the world, very few if any followers of Jesus. God, we pray for the rest of Jesus to spread to the Khamnigan Ewenki people of Mongolia.
Please, oh God, cause your rest, your bountiful goodness and grace to spread among the Khamnigan Ewenki people. Please, oh God, you have created them, their souls to find rest in you. Bring it about, we pray. Cause the gospel to spread to them, we pray. All of this in light of your word that guarantees rest in you according to Psalm 116:7. In Jesus’ name we pray, in the name of the one who has made your bountiful dealings with us possible. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
