Today's Conversation

Today's Conversation


Sheila Wise Rowe | Rest and Resisting the Pace of Pharaoh

May 15, 2025

Rest can feel like an undeserved “luxury” for many of us — but what if it’s actually a gift from God to help us resist the “pharaohs” of our age that plague us with constant striving and endless productivity? 


Sheila Wise Rowe, a counselor, spiritual director and author of “Healing Leadership Trauma,” joins this episode of Today’s Conversation podcast to explore the transformational power of rest — and why God’s rhythms for our lives are so different from the world’s relentless demands. 

While our culture tends to measure value by output, the gospel offers a rich vision of rest as a practice that nurtures emotional, spiritual and communal flourishing. In this conversation, NAE President Walter Kim and Sheila Wise Rowe discuss: 

  • Why rest is central to the gospel; 
  • How to recognize signs of emotional and spiritual overdrive; 
  • Rhythms of rest woven throughout Scripture; and
  • How God’s design for rest frees us.


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Find the show Notes: http://www.nae.org/wiserowepodcast


Watch the full Interview on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je-hAOSKoWI