Our Daily Bread Devotional For March 2, 2025 : Topic - Jesus—Our Place of Rest

 Our Daily Bread Devotional For March 2, 2025 : Topic - Jesus—Our Place of Rest

Read previous Our Daily Bread Devotionals here

Bible in a Year :Numbers 26-27,Mark 8:1-21

Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:29

Today's Scripture:Psalm 32:1-7

Insight

Psalm 32 has traditionally been classified as one of seven penitential (repentant) psalms. Other psalms in this category are Psalms 6, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143. In Psalm 32, the psalmist acknowledges the serious impact of unconfessed sin on the body: “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. . . . My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer” (vv. 3-4). This emphasis on the impact of sin on our bodies can be found in other psalms of repentance. In Psalm 38, for example, we read, “Because of your wrath there is no health in my body” (v. 3). The focus in Psalm 32, however, is the joy and peace to be found for all who turn to God for forgiveness (vv. 1-2, 5).

Learn the true meaning of Biblical peace.

By: Monica La Rose

In 1943, a camp in rural Maryland called Shangri-La was purchased as a retreat for US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Rustic, quiet, and remote, it provided “an opportunity for solitude and tranquility,” according to the White House website, “as well as an ideal place to work and host foreign leaders.” When Dwight Eisenhower became president, he renamed this retreat Camp David in honor of his father and his grandson, and the name stuck. Aside from increased security measures, there has been very little modernizing of the camp. It remains the perfect place for US presidents and their families to escape and rest.

Believers in Jesus also have a retreat where we can find rest in the midst of our turbulent world. In Psalm 32:7, King David wrote, “You [God] are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” David recognized that God was his true place of safety.

Jesus welcomes us to find rest and restoration in Him. He says, “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” (Matthew 11:28-29).

He can be our place of rest any time, every time, and all the time.

By:  Bill Crowder

Reflect & Pray

What robs you of peace and rest? How might you seek to find rest in Jesus?

Loving God, I’m tired. This world is tough, and sometimes I feel like the very life is drained from me. Please help me to be more intentional about coming to You and finding rest in Your gracious presence.

Discover how prayer can give you peace and rest.