Weary? Heavy Laden? Come!

Sweet Rest…

Matthew 11:28-30 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

How many of us need rest? Rest for our weary souls. Rest for the aching in our hearts. Rest from a hectic schedule. Rest. There are days that rest seems to be a mirage in the dessert of busy-ness. However often it isn’t the physical rest that I even need. It is that soul weariness that comes from disappointments, unmet expectations, dashed hopes, broken promises, dreams deferred or even dreams demolished. Our souls are even more weary when we do not stop at the feet of the only One who can give us rest. Jesus.

You’ve already read that Jesus says, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I WILL give you rest.” It is wonderful that we can find rest in Jesus. We can come to Him and lay our burdens down at His feet and rest in Him. Although we find rest as Jesus promises when we come to Him we often find ourselves burdened and weary and weighed down again soon. Have you ever gone to church or Bible study or a ladies retreat just weary and ready for rest? You get there and almost as soon as the first song is sung or the first speaker speaks, you find the rest for which you have been looking. Oh, but on the way home that burden is building up in you. You feel your shoulders tense each mile you draw closer to home and you are NO LONGER at rest. You are no longer at Jesus’ feet and so you have picked up your burden again and carried it with you. So I have only figured this out recently, but Jesus doesn’t want you JUST to lay your burden at His feet. He doesn’t only what you to find rest. He wants you to find rest for your souls. That deep abiding rest. However that rest only comes when you lay your burden at His feet and take up His yoke. Yes, trade your burden that is bigger than you, that is more than you, that most often isn’t even yours to carry and lay it at Jesus’ feet. Then take His yoke and learn from Him! WHY? Well for one, His burden is light. It is lighter than what you carry around. It is lighter than your expectations for yourself. It is lighter than your hopes and dreams, than your schedule, than your house that HAS to be perfect. Also, He is gentle and humble so He isn’t a task master who expects more from you than you can give or who will oppress your spirit. He wants to teach you. He is easy on you, He won’t make you do more than you can nor will He force you into laboring for Him. He asks you to take His yoke, He doesn’t place it on you….Oh and if you take His yoke, here is the kicker, You can’t pick back up your burden. It has to stay at His feet. Pretty cool. Trading your burden, your sin, your shame, your pain, your fears for His yoke that is easy and light…Then is when we will find rest for our souls! Praise God we can rest in Him!!!