Hidden Away with The Lord: a call for rest and intimacy

The Call to Rest: Finding Renewal in God’s Presence

In our busy world, rest often feels like something we do only when everything else is done. We push through our to-do lists, telling ourselves that rest can wait until later. But what if rest is not just about catching up on sleep or taking a break from work? What if true rest is something much deeper—something that God is inviting us into, not just for our physical bodies, but for our souls? I believe God is calling us to sit in his presence so that we can both dwell with him and be renewed.

In September 2023, I found myself resisting the call to rest. My schedule was packed, and I kept telling myself, I’ll rest when I have my ankle surgery in November. For now, there were just too many things to do. But God had a different plan for me.

A Divine Pause

It all started one morning in September, as I was walking out of the gym. I felt like I was physically stopped by God. I felt in my spirit he was calling me to be still. I took a deep breath and tried to stay present in that moment. But when I reached my car, it happened again. I felt physically stopped.

So, I leaned against my car, closed my eyes, and just listened. I allowed myself to be present, not rushing, not thinking about what needed to be done, just sitting in silence and being with God. In that stillness, something shifted in me. I felt God’s invitation to rest, and I knew that I needed to make more room for it in my life. I got into my car with the promise that I would put more effort into resting. But the rest God was calling me to wasn’t what I thought it was.

What is True Rest?

In the month that followed, I worked on giving myself more physical rest. I started prioritizing a night routine, getting more sleep, and taking time for down time in the evenings. I’d spend time outside, breathing in the fresh air and connecting with God and making room for deep intentional time in prayer. I felt better physically, spiritually, and emotionally. I was resting.

Then, the day before Halloween in October 2023, I suffered a head injury. Altogether, including this head injury I have had 10. If you have suffered multiple head injuries or even just one, you know the significant impact it can have on your life and in altering your brain. Because of this head injury I was forced into this space of not doing anything. And it wasn’t until the first week of November, while listening to a podcast episode from Jesus Image, that I experienced the type of rest God had truly been calling me to.

The Call to Spiritual Rest

On November 6, 2023, I found myself in my room, deeply worn out—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. As I listened to the podcast, I felt the Holy Spirit gently prompting me sit down on the floor and turn the podcast off because he wanted to meet with me. Excitedly, I turned everything off and sat down. After sitting with God and speaking to himfor a while I asked the Lord “Can I go now? God’s response was clear: No.

I sat there waiting and told the Lord that I wasn't going to leave until he met with me. Refocusing my thoughts to mediate on him and to listen for his voice, rather than being the one doing all the talking.

After what felt like sitting there for an hour with my back leaning against the bed God’s presence filled the room. I was moved to tears because of an overwhelming warmth and peace that suddenly wash over me and it was in that moment that I saw a picture from the Lord.

I was sitting bellow someone on a glowing bench (I couldn’t make out His features, but I knew it was Jesus). My head was resting on His lap, His hand gently stroking my hair. There was darkness all around us, but His light surrounded and covered me. I heard the Father say, This is rest—to be hidden away with me.

Tears streamed down my face as I sat in the presence of God feeling physically held by him. I was reminded in a new way that rest wasn’t just about sleep or taking a break from the hustle. Rest wasn't just giving God a set time in my day to speak to me. It was about being with God in the secret place, resting in His love and presence, without any time constraints or distractions.

I am not an artist but I did my best to draw the picture God gave me!

The Rest God Calls Us To

The rest God was calling me to was not merely physical, but deeply spiritual. True rest, as I began to understand, is to seek God’s presence with the expectation that He will meet us. Rest is to sit with God, undistracted and unhurried, letting Him do the talking. It’s about resting in His embrace, where we allow Him to renew and restore us in every way.

Psalm 91 speaks of being “hidden in the secret place” of the Most High. This is the place where true rest is found—not in our busyness, but in the quiet surrender to God’s presence.

Letting God Take Care of You

After this experience with God’s presence, I began to feel physically drained. My head injury and the exhaustion from the emotional encounter were taking a toll on me. I asked the Lord, “Can I get up now?” and laughed a little when I felt God say in my spirit, “Go, take care of your health.” The Lord had mended something within my heart and now he was calling me to take care of my physical needs after my encounter with him.

It reminded me of the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19:1-9 which says,

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.

Elijah was exhausted, physically and emotionally. He wanted to give up, but God sent an angel to care for his physical needs. The angel provided food, water, and rest before Elijah could continue his difficult journey which would last forty days and forty nights. The Lord didn’t leave Elijah in his brokenness; He ministered to his physical and spiritual needs, strengthening him for what was ahead.

Continuing with the story of Elijah, 1 Kings 19:9-13 says,

There he went into a cave and spent the night. LORD And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The voice of Yahweh wasn't found in the wind, earthquake, nor the fire. But it was by a gentle whisper.

The Invitation to Rest

When God calls, we must answer. Even in our weariness, God is there to meet us. He wants us to find rest in Him—not just as a break from our daily activities, but with a deep longing of being with Him. Elijah thought he was alone, but God met him in the quiet, in the gentle whisper—not in the mighty wind, not in the earthquake and not in the fire.

I believe God is calling us all to a deeper rest, a rest that goes beyond the physical needs. He’s calling us to rest in His presence, to find renewal and strength in the secret place, away from the noise of life. A rest that is so intimate with him. A type of rest that causes us to be hidden away with him in the secret place so that we can hear his gentle whisper. A rest where there is no time limit in His presence, no rush, no agenda—just the invitation to rest and be renewed.

Are you ready to answer God’s call to rest?

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