“This is what the Lord says – “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.”
(Jeremiah 6:16, NLT)

My Bible has sat opened with the verse before me for a few days now.

Rest.

We long for it. A day where we can be inactive, do nothing, and relax a bit. ‘Rest’ can be defined as a freedom from activity, and Lord knows, are lives are filled to the brim with activity.

As I have come back to this verse, it has been pointing to several actions we can take to obtain true rest:

1. Stop. “Stop at the crossroads…”. Stop our busyness for a bit. We keep adding things to do onto our plates, which are already full. We need to cease saying yes, and exercise the power of a “no” now and then. Just because we can, does not mean that we must.
2. Look. “… and look around.” Take, or make, the time to see God around us in the beauty of all He has created. Don’t miss the movement of the clouds, the rise of the sun, the smell of the seasons, and His Presence with you. He places reminders of Himself everywhere we are so that we “see” Him throughout our day.
3. Ask. “Ask for the old, godly way…”. Ask Him what He would have us to do each day. Following His directions, obeying His Word, will always lead us to rest for our souls.
4. Walk. “and walk in it. Travel its path…”. We need to walk in His way, traveling along the path He has marked out for us.

We need to return to the crossroads, the place where we strayed from our rest, for it is in listening and obeying God’s instructions that we find true rest for our souls.

The “godly way” is the way God leads,
it is the best way and
will always lead to rest for our souls.