Rest feels like a luxury you can’t afford. Your to-do list never shrinks, your responsibilities multiply faster than you can manage them, and taking a break feels irresponsible when so much demands your attention. You run on fumes, telling yourself you’ll rest later, after this project, after the kids are grown, after retirement. But later never comes, and exhaustion becomes your constant companion. You’re tired in ways that sleep can’t fix, weary not just in body but in soul.
The Bible presents rest not as laziness but as a spiritual discipline rooted in trust. God built rest into creation itself, modeling the rhythm of work and Sabbath from the beginning. Jesus invited weary people to come to Him for rest, promising relief not just from physical tiredness but from the soul-crushing weight of trying to earn your worth through endless striving. Biblical rest means stopping to remember that God is in control, that your value isn’t tied to your productivity, and that you’re a human being, not a human doing.
These verses invite you to lay down burdens you were never meant to carry and discover the deep rest that comes from trusting God with what you can’t control.
Bible Verses About Rest
1. Matthew 11:28-29 – Come to Me, All Who Are Weary
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
New International Version (NIV)
2. Exodus 33:14 – My Presence Will Go with You
And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
3. Psalm 23:2-3 – He Makes Me Lie Down in Green Pastures
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
New King James Version (NKJV)
4. Psalm 62:1 – I Wait Quietly Before God
I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.
New Living Translation (NLT)
5. Exodus 20:8-10 – Remember the Sabbath Day
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You must not do any work.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
6. Psalm 37:7 – Rest in the Lord
Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7. Hebrews 4:9-10 – There Remains a Sabbath Rest
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
King James Version (KJV)
8. Isaiah 30:15 – In Returning and Rest You Shall Be Saved
For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9. Psalm 4:8 – In Peace I Will Lie Down and Sleep
At day’s end I’m ready for sound sleep, For you, GOD, have put my life back together.
The Message (MSG)
10. Jeremiah 6:16 – You Will Find Rest for Your Souls
Thus says the Lord: Stand by the roads and look; and ask for the eternal paths, where the good, old way is; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11. Matthew 11:30 – My Yoke Is Easy and My Burden Is Light
For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.
New English Translation (NET)
12. Psalm 116:7 – Return to Your Rest, My Soul
Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
13. Isaiah 28:12 – This Is the Resting Place
This is a place of rest where the weary can rest. It is a place of peace. But you refuse to listen.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
14. Psalm 127:2 – He Grants Sleep to Those He Loves
It is no use for you to get up early and stay up late, working for a living. The LORD gives sleep to those he loves.
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
15. Mark 6:31 – Come with Me to a Quiet Place
And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
New King James Version (NKJV)
16. Psalm 95:11 – They Shall Not Enter My Rest
So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’
New International Version (NIV)
17. Hebrews 4:3 – We Who Have Believed Enter That Rest
For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest,'” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world.
English Standard Version (ESV)
18. Psalm 91:1 – Whoever Dwells in the Shelter
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
New King James Version (NKJV)
19. Isaiah 32:18 – My People Will Live in Peaceful Places
My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, and in undisturbed places of rest.
New Living Translation (NLT)
20. Psalm 131:2 – I Have Calmed and Quieted Myself
Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like a weaned child.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
21. Job 11:18 – You Will Be Secure, Because There Is Hope
You will be secure, because there is hope; And you will look around and rest securely.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
22. Ecclesiastes 4:6 – Better One Handful with Tranquility
Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.
King James Version (KJV)
23. 2 Thessalonians 1:7 – God Will Give Relief to You
and to give relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
24. Psalm 55:6 – Oh, for the Wings of a Dove
Oh, how I wish I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!
The Message (MSG)
25. Proverbs 3:24 – When You Lie Down, You Will Not Be Afraid
When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
26. Leviticus 25:4 – But in the Seventh Year
But in the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath of complete rest, a Sabbath to the LORD.
New English Translation (NET)
27. Psalm 23:1 – The Lord Is My Shepherd
The LORD is my shepherd; I have everything I need.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
28. Matthew 6:34 – Do Not Worry About Tomorrow
So don’t be worried about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
29. Revelation 14:13 – Blessed Are the Dead Who Die in the Lord
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
New International Version (NIV)
30. Psalm 16:9 – My Body Also Will Rest Secure
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
English Standard Version (ESV)
31. Isaiah 14:3 – On the Day the Lord Gives You Relief
It shall come to pass in the day the LORD gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve.
New King James Version (NKJV)
32. Psalm 46:10 – Be Still, and Know That I Am God
Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.
New Living Translation (NLT)
33. Deuteronomy 12:10 – He Will Give You Rest
When you cross the Jordan and live in the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he gives you rest from all the enemies around you so that you live in safety.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
34. 2 Corinthians 7:5 – This Body of Ours Had No Rest
For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
35. Genesis 2:2-3 – God Rested on the Seventh Day
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
King James Version (KJV)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Rest
Rest is woven into creation itself. God didn’t rest on the seventh day because He was tired, but to model a rhythm He knew His people would need. The Sabbath wasn’t arbitrary legalism but a gift, an invitation to stop striving and remember that the world doesn’t depend on our constant activity. Biblical rest is fundamentally about trust, choosing to lay down our work and acknowledge that God is in control, that He’s capable of sustaining what we can’t.
What challenges me most about biblical rest is how countercultural it is. Our society glorifies busyness and treats rest as laziness. We wear exhaustion as a badge of honor, proof that we’re important and productive. But Scripture invites us into a different way, where our value isn’t tied to our output and rest is an act of faith, not failure. When we rest, we’re declaring that God’s kingdom doesn’t rise or fall based on our relentless activity.
The most encouraging truth about rest is that Jesus offers soul rest that goes deeper than physical relaxation. He invites the weary to come to Him, promising rest not just from tiredness but from the crushing burden of trying to earn our worth through performance. In Christ, we find rest from striving for approval, rest from the anxiety of control, and rest in the security of being loved unconditionally.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, I’m tired in ways that sleep can’t fix. I’ve been running on empty, trying to do everything, control everything, and manage everything on my own. Forgive me for believing the lie that rest is weakness or that Your kingdom depends on my constant activity. Teach me to rest.
Help me to trust You enough to lay down my burdens, to stop striving, and to remember that You’re in control. Give me wisdom to build rhythms of rest into my life, not as luxury but as obedience to Your design. Help me to stop measuring my worth by my productivity and to find my identity in being Your beloved child, not in what I accomplish.
When I’m tempted to skip rest because there’s too much to do, remind me that You rested, that You modeled Sabbath for my good. Help me to distinguish between responsible work and anxious striving, between healthy diligence and the soul-crushing burden of trying to be my own savior.
Thank You for inviting me to come to You when I’m weary and promising rest for my soul.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Evang. Anabelle Thompson is the founder of Believers Refuge, a Scripture-based resource that helps Christians to find biblical guidance for life’s challenges.
With over 15 years of ministry experience and a decade of dedicated Bible study, she creates content that connects believers with relevant Scripture for their daily struggles.
Her work has reached over 76,000 monthly readers (which is projected to reach 100,000 readers by the end of 2025) seeking practical faith applications, biblical encouragement, and spiritual guidance rooted in God’s Word.
She writes from personal experience, having walked through seasons of waiting, breakthrough, and spiritual growth that inform her teaching.
Evang. Thompson brings 12 years of active ministry and evangelism experience, along with over 10 years of systematic Bible study and theological research.
As a former small group leader and Sunday school teacher, she has published over 200 biblical resources and devotional studies.
She specializes in applying Scripture to everyday life challenges and regularly studies the original Hebrew and Greek texts for a deeper biblical understanding.