Rest: Experiencing God's Peace in a Restless World

by Dr Siang-Yang Tan

"Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Bringing a distinctly Christian perspective to the subject of finding true rest in the midst of daily pressures, Siang-Yang Tan diagnoses what ails us and provides thoroughly practical steps to help us respond to Jesus' invitation. "In this book, Siang-Yang Tan draws from a richness of experience to write with warmth and compassion. Since he himself knows the difficulty of slowing down in these hyperactive times, he is able to give practical guidelines to others, drawn from a wealth of information found in the Scriptures, empirical research, and psychological reports. . . . If rest is not easy for you to put into practice, learn from an author who is growing at a healthy pace and willing to bring others along on the journey." -from the Foreword, by Dr. Gary R. Collins SIANG-YANG TAN is professor of psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He also serves as Senior Pastor of First Evangelical Church in Glendale, California. He has authored or co-authored eight previous books, including Disciplines of the Holy Spirit and Understanding Depression. He is an associate editor of The Journal of Psychology and Christianity.

Genres: Christian, Christianity

228 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book as I was trying to grow as a person of rest. I came away feeling helped, but slightly unsatisfied.

Dr. Tan creates good categories in the book and he understands rest. However the book often feels like a collection of lists and categories without the benefit of helpful insight. You leave curious to know what the author things as he spends a good amount of the book referencing other people.

If I was to recommend another person to grow in rest, I would probably choose sabbath keeping by lyne baab, not this book. However, if you have time and like lists of options on how to grow as a person of rest, then this book is worth a skim.

[Ricardo Suranta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book from a cheeky friend of mine who attempted to troll me due to restlessness in the masters' degree. It is a great blessing in disguise! Personally, this book is a perfect read for me to end the year.

I love how "Rest" fills up the missing pieces on battling anxiety from what I have learned through Peter Scazerro's "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality" and how to dethrone the idols that are causing them in Timothy Keller's "Counterfeit Gods." Both books mentioned restlessness and rest, and this book went through a deep-dive to the act of rest itself, both from the biblical and scientific point of view. I am amazed by the number of facets that build the lifestyle of rest - especially resting in God as a Christian.

In each chapter, Professor Tan starts from the theoretical standpoint first (be it from the Bible or researches) and later transition to the practical steps. As several reviewers might have stated, he referred to a lot of external sources. Some might dislike this style since it might come off as unoriginal. I see this as a mark on where Professor Tan got his influences and how he ended up living the lifestyle. I hope I could follow it properly.

All in all, it was a great read!

[Virginia Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall good book, some chapters are better than others. Really good for references and finding different books on each chapters topic. The most impactful part of this book was the chapter in shepherd centered ness. It brought me back to meditating on Psalm 23, and I haven’t stopped chewing on that passage since January.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read. I appreciated that he drew from a wealth of diverse resources, not just his own life experiences. I read this over a one-month sabbatical from an intense ministry, and now feel better equipped to go back.

[Olive Chan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A practical and biblically sound book about how it's possible for us to experience the deep rest of God in this hectic world. Filled with quotes from other sources, this book is like a reference book for good resources on topics such as Solitude, Simplicity, Sabbath, Sleep and Stress-Management, among other topics. Lots of great ideas. Leaves you feeling hopeful that experiencing rest in the Lord IS possible!

[Simon Wan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author writes well and is able to quote many other writers and sources, based on his research. A practical book with many suggestions. It will be good to also read other books on rest for our souls based on a deep(er) study of the subject and more reflection on scripture eg Ruth Haley Barton's Invitation to Solitude and Silence.

[Mechelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out promising, and the first nine chapters provided useful information regarding rest. It fizzled out in the last three chapters. The author quotes a lot from other books, which makes up most of the book, and gets worse in the last three chapters. On the plus side, this added some pretty interesting books to my reading list. All in all, I found it worth the read.