“Come unto 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.” Matthew 11:28-30
These 3 verses tucked away in the teachings of Jesus in Matthew are so needed in our lives today. I don’t think there is a single one of us that is not weary. Life is tiring. The world is tiring. The agenda of the world, the agenda of my week, the agenda of today…
And the burdens! It seems in this day and age that the prayer lists just keep getting longer with loved ones who are sick, friends and family that follow their own definition of truth, work demands, red tape, political agendas—things we don’t just hear but deeply care about, and when they are going astray, we carry the burdens of anxiety, stress, hurt, pain and wishing we somehow could solve it all or at least see Christ return to bring an end to all the chaos! How refreshing to hear “Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
As we unpack this promise this week, we will delve deeper into what Jesus is saying, for packed it is! Let’s start with the promise: and I will give you rest.
This is the promise: and I will give you rest. The “I” is Jesus, and it is He who will bring rest and restoration to our souls. But it isn’t an empty promise. It comes as a result of our own actions. Come unto me…and I will give you rest. We receive that rest when we come unto him.
What does it mean to come to Christ? On the simplest level, we find rest for our souls when we understand what God has done for us in Christ. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) We have rest for our souls when we know that we have been forgiven and are deeply loved, giving us value and worth. We find rest when we are free from our guilt and shame, and free from the bondage of sin. Oh, sure, we aren’t perfect, and we will continue to fall here and there, but the difference is in knowing that God has made a way and offers us forgiveness by taking our sins upon Him. “For the wages of sin is death, BUT, the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) On a deeper level, we find rest for our souls when we are ‘plugged’ into God. It is through reading His Word and praying that we hear Him and submit ourselves to Him and find rest. It is when we are reminded of the truth of His character and as we get to know who He is through reading the Word or going to church and learning from the sermons that we begin to understand more about how God helps us. He is the hope we have when a loved one dies. He is greater than our problems and calms our hearts when anxious thoughts drive us. He is faithful to His promises so we can trust that despite the circumstances, He will work all things together for the good of those who love Him. Understanding WHO God is, His character, brings rest to our souls because we learn that we truly are not left alone to figure it all out ourselves. No, we have a heavenly Father who is kind and loving and cares and is all powerful.
The promise follows the invitation. “Come unto me…and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28. The first step to finding rest for our souls is to come unto Him.
Our song for today is Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong United.