Learning to Rest in Christ | A Book Review of The Pursuit of Holy Leisure by Cara Ray
- Amber Thiessen
- 5 minutes ago
- 5 min read
There’s a pressure many of us carry in our walk with God—the sense that we should be doing more. Reading more, praying more, showing up more consistently. We often measure our faithfulness by what we accomplish, often with the best of intentions.
But what if spiritual growth doesn’t begin with striving, but with rest?
What if abiding in Christ is less about keeping pace and more about staying rooted?
What would change if we believed our spiritual growth wasn’t personal improvement, but rather growth in Christ?
In her book, The Pursuit of Holy Leisure: Enjoying God in Everyday Places, Cara Ray invites us to reconsider the posture we bring to our spiritual lives, offering a vision of “holy leisure” that reshapes both our effort and our joy in knowing Christ.
Learning to Rest in Christ | A Book Review of The Pursuit of Holy Leisure by Cara Ray
Content
Content
Purpose of the Book
Cara Ray introduces the Latin phrase otium sanctum, or “holy leisure,” inviting readers to embrace a posture of rest rooted in our union with Christ. She weaves together this identity with a reoriented understanding of effort—one that doesn’t eliminate striving, but reshapes it—so that we might experience deeper joy in knowing Christ.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Lean into the Mountain
PART I: The Hidden Places
CHAPTER 1: Going All In
CHAPTER 2: Better than Gold and Honey.
CHAPTER 3: Praying in Secret.
CHAPTER 4: Seek First Thing the Kingdom
PART II: The Familiar Places
CHAPTER 5: Grace Will Lead You Home
CHAPTER 6: Faith at Work
CHAPTER 7: Living Out the One Anothers
CHAPTER 8: Creating Art with Heart
PART III: The Hard Places
CHAPTER 9: Tempted to Disbelieve
CHAPTER 10: In a Dry and Thirsty Land
CHAPTER 11: The Love of God in 4-D
CHAPTER 12: Fashion for the Fight
PART IV: The Fruitful Places
CHAPTER 13: The Exchanged Life
CHAPTER 14: The Rooted and Fruitful Life
CHAPTER 15: Restless Hearts Made Full
CHAPTER 16: "Come to Me"
Summary
Cara organizes the book into four parts, tracing how our identity in Christ reshapes every area of life—from our relationship with God in the hidden places, to our everyday interactions at home and work, to the difficult realities of sin and suffering, and finally to lives marked by fruitfulness in our calling and service to others.
My Take
I was born with a checklist in my bassinet.
Okay, maybe that’s not exactly true…unless my mom kept her own list there.
But, as a young girl, I loved reading and this love grew from picture books, to chapter books, hardcover children’s encyclopedias, and the Bible. When I received my very first bible, probably in grade 5 or 6, there was a bible reading plan at the back—complete with a checklist.
If there was ever a girl who felt great joy from checking boxes, it was me. This two-column list of empty squares quickly became both motivation and measure of achievement. What began with colored pens grew into a regular habit.
Over the years my morning abiding time with the Lord has taken different shapes and traveled across emotions, often correlating with what’s going on in my life, through desperation, delight, and sometimes even apathy. And though our spiritual life is, in fact, not a matter of ticking boxes, my heart clings to them at times. Because if the boxes are filled in, it means I’ve doing the right thing, that I’m ‘good enough’ before God.
…Right??
These thoughts may be our secret mantra, but it’s not the truth of the gospel.
Recovering from these perfectionist tendencies meant dismantling them completely. Allowing myself to feel wrecked before God, unworthy as I am, with nothing to offer my Savior, only then could I truly taste the goodness of the gospel.
Because while we were sinners, not a little bit, not kinda, but a true enemy of God, He sent the Lord Jesus that we could receive grace in our desperate moment of need and experience reconciliation.
Now, we are in Him.
We are joined with Him (1 Cor. 6:17), our life is hidden within His (Col. 3:3), we’ve been both buried and raised with Him (Rom. 6:4). And you know what? None of this is a test we’ve aced, nor a player-of-the-game award we’ve earned. All the blessings of being united with Christ are because of Him, “who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30).
Acknowledging these truths means digging up vulnerability. We’ve crafted the perfectionist persona to protect ourselves from shame or our fear of being unloved or rejected. So in bringing ourselves before the Lord with humility, our hearts bared open, we might feel afraid. But this is where the Good Shepherd proves faithful, not allowing our foot to slip and leading us to safe pasture instead.
The invitation of holy leisure isn’t that we laze back with our feet up, but lean into these truths and the beautiful rest we have in Him. We can spend all our time striving for perfection or good enough, yet grace, peace and contentment will elude us. Instead, we can be those who embrace the gospel wholeheartedly and courageously, trusting the One who's saved us.
Where do you need to let go of striving and receive the rest Christ offers?
My Recommendation
If you’re feeling busy and overwhelmed, or maybe you’ve prone to tackling your time with the Lord as a checklist rather than a relationship, this book is a gentle invitation to explore your rest in Christ and live in communion with Him that’s not pressured, but delightful.
Quick Stats
# of Pages: 280
Level of Difficulty: Easy
My Rating: 5 stars
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Video: From the Author
I always enjoy hearing the author's voice as they describe their book!!
Scriptures About Enjoying God
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Heb. 11:6)
Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord! May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth! (Ps. 134:1-3)
I will take joy in the God of my salvation (Hab. 3:18)
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16:11)
Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10)
So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you (John 16:22)
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*A big thanks to my friend Cara for sharing an advanced copy with me and for the opportunty to post an honest review!
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