"Come To Me, I Will Give You Rest!"

"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." (Mat. 11:28-30)

These were Jesus's words. How will you describe these words? First, they are an invitation to which you and I are included. Jesus invites 'all.' Second, they are to all who are 'weary and burdened.' Are you? I am. Third, the invitation comes with an instruction...' come.' Fourth,  the invitation comes with a promise...'I will give you rest.'

Now, let us explore this a bit deeper. We all need rest, don't we? The concept of rest (Sabbath) was first introduced in Genesis after God created the heavens and the earth and rested on the seventh day. (Gen. 2:2). Sabbath rest was not introduced because God was tired after creation. No! It was introduced for our sake. God does not get tired, but we do.  (Isa. 40:28-31)

In this text, Jesus is not talking about Sabbath rest, which is good for us. He is talking about something deeper. He is not addressing the tiredness from work. No, He is interested in the tiredness from running after what you "want" instead of what you "need." And yes, what you need and want are not always the same. You are exhausted with life to the point that exhaustion has led to heavy burdens. Jesus says come to me, I will give you rest.

We are on our phones for hours, glued to TV screens where all the news we hear is bad news. Relationships at home are broken down and your workplace, which used to be your "safe" place, has become a nightmare. Jesus says come, let me be your safe place. You are overwhelmed with the struggles of life. A health scare has robbed you of your joy. Jesus says come, I will guide you out of your sorrow and troubles. 

When Jesus says, "Take my yoke," he means to take hold of what I teach and "learn from me". Do you see how he connects His yoke to learning from Him? When we do what Jesus says, we get miraculous results. When we take His yoke and learn from Him, we find rest. A troubled soul is a weary soul. Turn to Jesus for solace today. This is how Isaiah puts it. "They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isa. 40:31, ESV) 

How about we put the phone down and just come to Jesus? You may ask, how do I do that? Well, there are many ways. Start with listening to the song below. A friend recently told me he and his wife are having an incredible time with God. No matter the type of day they've had when they come before God daily at the time they've set, God shows up and refreshes them. Linda, my wife, is in a season when she comes before God and waits on Him. No requests, just waiting, enjoying anything He has to say. Why don't you do either of those? 

I plead with you, please take Jesus' invitation seriously. Come to Him, and He will give you rest.