What if rest doesn’t look like a hammock and a nap—but 300 miles of mud, silence, and surrender?

That’s the question my brother, Troy, unknowingly set out to answer when he hiked the entire Superior Hiking Trail this fall. Not for glory or a bucket list checkmark—but to find what happens when we finally stop trying to earn rest and instead, walk it out mile by mile.

This episode is special. Not just because Troy is my brother—my built-in best friend and adventure buddy—but because his story reframes how we think about rest altogether.

When I told him before his trip to think about “rest,” he laughed and said, “I’ll try.” Three and a half weeks later, blistered and changed, he had a lot to say. Together we unpacked what true rest looks like—what it isn’t, why we resist it, and how God uses wilderness seasons (literal and spiritual) to remind us we’re not the ones keeping the world turning.

Because maybe rest isn’t stopping—it’s trusting.

✨ Key Themes & Takeaways

Rest is an act of faith. When we stop striving, we declare that God—not us—keeps our world spinning.

You can’t rest if you still feel responsible for everything. Rest begins where false dependency ends.

Sabbath is worship, not recovery. It’s less about what we do and more about who we trust.

Busyness can be disguised self-importance. The need to feel “needed” often keeps us from true peace.

Silence and solitude matter. When we step away from noise, we finally hear what God’s been saying all along.

Our Favorite Quotes

“What we need to remove in order to rest might matter more than what we add.”

“God didn’t rest because He was tired. He rested because it was good.”

“Not resting is often a lack of faith—we think everything depends on us.”

“If Jesus could sleep through a storm, maybe I can stop checking my email.”

“Rest isn’t lazy—it’s holy trust in motion.”

⏱ Chapter Markers

00:00 – Rest redefined: a hike through surrender

06:50 – Why Troy took on 300 miles of the Superior Hiking Trail

13:00 – The false promise of “productive rest”

20:00 – When rest meets resistance: learning to be present

27:40 – Disconnection, dependency, and the noise we cling to

31:10 – Faith, Sabbath, and what Genesis really teaches us about rest

44:00 – How Jesus modeled rest in the middle of chaos

50:00 – The Westminster confession and the mental work of Sabbath

1:06:00 – The challenge: make your list of what depends on you

🪶 Your Turn

This week’s reflection prompt: “What parts of your life have you convinced yourself can’t run without you—and what would it look like to trust God with them?”

Maybe your rest doesn’t look like 300 miles of trail. Maybe it looks like closing the laptop early. Turning your phone on silent. Saying no to one more thing.

Whatever it is—remember, rest isn’t retreating from life. It’s returning to the One who holds it all together.

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