Day 8: Rest in His Guidance

Invitation to Rest

As you settle in to spend time with God today, try to find a quiet space where you won't be interrupted. Silence your phone. Grab your journal and a pen. Sit comfortably with your hands open in a posture that allows you to receive from the Lord.

Take a few slow, deep breaths:

• Breathe in: God's peace
• Breathe out: Any distractions

Opening Prayer: "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. Open my eyes to see, my ears to hear, and my heart to receive what You want to say to me today."

Today's Scripture Reading

Read today's passage slowly a few times and listen with your heart.

Isaiah 58:11 (CSB) - The LORD will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry.

After reading, pause for a moment and then reflect: What word or phrase catches my attention?

Meditation

Read the passage again, slowly, focusing on your word or phrase.

This passage immediately kindles thoughts of Eden, where Adam and Eve were called to 'tend and watch over the Garden' (Gen. 2:15). When sin banished them from divine fellowship with God, He did not abandon humanity. In Isaiah 58:11, God is now the gardener who tends and watches over us! We come to Him parched and depleted, and He cultivates the soil of our hearts until we become 'a well-watered garden'—a restoration of Eden's flourishing life within us.

Take a moment to reflect on these questions.

• Where do I feel parched and depleted today?
• How has God been tending to and watching over me these last 8 days?

Conversation with God (Prayer)

Read through the passage one more time, allowing the Scripture to lead you to respond to God in prayer. Open your heart and be honest with him about what you are experiencing. Talk to Him about what comes to mind, and how He might be inviting you to respond.

Isaiah 58:11 (CSB) - The LORD will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. You will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose water never runs dry.

Are you feeling led toward a prayer of praise? Repentance? A plea for help or healing?

Contemplation

Rest in the awareness of God's presence, remaining open to anything else the Holy Spirit might stir in your heart. If your mind wanders, gently redirect your thoughts toward God. Simply be still. Enjoy a moment of fellowship with God that goes deeper than words.

Rest. Breathe. Be.

Closing Prayer

"Lord, I need your guidance today. My tendency is to keep going while dry and depleted, to rely on the strength of my own hands. Lord, I receive your rest, your refreshment, and your strength today. Make my life resemble that of Eden, flourishing and full of lasting fruit for your glory, Lord. Amen."