Published by Moody Publishers on April 4, 2023
Genres: Non-Fiction, Christian Life
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The comforting bid of Jesus to the worn and weary soul:
Come to me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest.
You’re tired. Tired in your body. Tired in your soul. At times, life feels hard, chaotic, or just mind-numbingly ordinary. But what if our souls could find rest even amid the onslaught of chaos and confusion? What if we could exchange that heavy dread and disquiet for a peace that passes understanding? Author Sarah J. Hauser believes that while our outward lives are falling apart, our inner lives can grow stronger. All Who are Weary was born out of Sarah’s own story—her depression, grief, and tears. Sarah, no stranger to weariness, invites us to join her in bringing our heavy burdens to Jesus and taking the light burden He offers instead.
Readers find deep, lasting rest by throwing off nine soul-crushing burdens: worthlessness, condemnation, worry, self-sufficiency, insecurity, comparison, perfectionism, insignificance, and despair. We were never meant to carry these things in the first place. Christians who feel stuck, strained, and discouraged will be equipped with Scripture and encouraged by personal stories that help us identify the burdens we need to release. Because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can live with joy and endurance, come what may. If you’re craving rest for your soul, Jesus invites you to come to Him, because only there can true rest be found.
In this book, Sarah J. Hauser shares about some of her struggles and how she has found rest in her relationship with God. She writes about dealing with depression and feelings of failure as a parent, as well as grief over her mother’s illness and death, and she connects these experiences with general themes that readers can relate to in their different circumstances. She writes about issues like condemnation, perfectionism, worry, and feelings of insignificance, and each chapter is vulnerable, insightful, and grounded in Scripture. Although some books like this tend towards the memoir category, this one strikes the balance of being a general Christian living book while also drawing deeply from the author’s experiences, showing how she has experienced these truths in her life.
All Who Are Weary: Finding True Rest By Letting Go of the Burdens You Were Never Meant to Carry will encourage Christians in a variety of difficult circumstances, especially if they struggle with shame for not living up to their own or other’s standards of success. Any Christian can benefit from this book’s biblical wisdom about dealing with hard things and finding rest in Christ, and people who share the author’s experiences of struggling with depression and anxiety will appreciate her efforts to combat stigma and share true, platitude-free encouragements. Also, in addition to sharing insights from her own experience, Hauser includes an interview with a Christian therapist at the end.
All Who Are Weary is meaningful, concise, and well-written, and it is appropriate for a broad audience. Hauser’s personal stories are mainly about being a wife and a mother, but the book applies to people in any life stage, since its basis is ultimately in the Bible and truths about God, not her own life advice or personal details. I would recommend this to both women and men who are struggling with discouragement and weariness in their Christian lives, and it can also help and encourage teenagers who are dealing with similar issues.