In this Community Questions series of the Be Still podcast, Lisa Brenninkmeyer responds to questions from the Walking with Purpose community about faith and everyday life. Through Scripture and practical wisdom, discover how to navigate life's challenges, recognize God's presence in the midst of your struggles, and take your next step toward a deeper communion with Him.

"I'm exhausted, and I don't know how to get out of this cycle. How do I find rest when life doesn't seem to slow down?" —Be Still Podcast Listener

What if the reason we're still exhausted, even after taking time off, is that we're not getting the kind of rest our souls actually need?

Not all exhaustion comes from the same place. Some of us are worn out from trying to hold everything together. Others are depleted from constantly caring for everyone around us. And some are exhausted by minds that never stop anticipating, analyzing, and worrying about what comes next.

In this episode—part one of the two-part response to this community question—Lisa explores three invitations to deeper rest: stillness, solitude, and silence. Each addresses a different burden we carry, and each offers an opportunity to encounter God and grow in trust.

Drawing from Mark 1, where Jesus withdraws to pray even while crowds are still seeking Him, Lisa reminds us that being needed is not always the same as being called. We can love others generously without assuming responsibility for every need, every outcome, or every uncertainty.

True restoration comes not simply from doing less, but from making room for communion with God.

In this episode, Lisa explores:

• Why taking a break doesn't always leave us feeling restored.
• How to recognize which of three patterns of exhaustion might be affecting you.
• Stillness: Learning to surrender control and trust God with unfinished things.
• Solitude: Remembering that we are loved for who we are, not what we do for others.
• Silence: Releasing the need for certainty and resting in God's wisdom.
• What Jesus teaches us about prayer, boundaries, and discerning which needs we are actually called to meet.
• Why rest is not an invitation to love less, but an opportunity to receive God's love more deeply.

The episode closes with Litany of Self-Love by Micole Amalu, a prayer inviting us to release perfectionism, self-reliance, and the belief that we must earn the right to rest.

Journaling Questions

1. Which of the three invitations—stillness, solitude, or silence—do you find yourself resisting most? What might that resistance reveal about the burden you're carrying or what you're struggling to entrust to God?
2. Jesus did not allow every need around Him to determine what He was called to do. Where in your life might you be confusing being needed with being called? What would it look like to surrender that responsibility to God?

Key Scripture
Mark 1:35. Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Mark 1:37–38. “Everyone is looking for you.” He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.”

Show Mentions
Litany of Self-Love by Micole Amalu

Presenting Sponsor
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