Matthew 11:28-30(NLT)
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
A good friend and I were having a conversation the other day, and she mentioned how tired she had been lately. I told her I was feeling the same way. It can be daunting after the holidays. The ‘take-down’ can be more rigorous than putting everything up, not to mention all the other preparations and running around to be done. I don’t know if it’s simply a matter of getting older or if not getting enough rest is the culprit, but for the past couple of weeks, all I could think about was going home, taking a shower and getting into bed. I told myself it was nothing an eight-hour night’s rest wouldn’t cure, but the funny thing is that I’d awaken the next morning just as tired as I was the previous day. It dawned on me that it’s time for a deep spiritual rest that only our Lord and Savior can give.
As a child, whenever I or my siblings complained about being tired from chores or play, my great grandmother would tell us that we had no idea what it meant to be tired. We faced nothing like the circumstances she encountered during her lifetime, and as an adult, I can appreciate this. As I grew older, somewhere along the way I was taught that Christians shouldn’t complain about being tired, but we all face times in life that make us weary in mind, body, and spirit. Our blessed Lord revealed his loving compassion for our weariness in Matthew 11. He understood the pressures of life, and that they can deplete us in every way.
Instead of trying to handle everything ourselves, Jesus Christ invites us to come to him, and give him all our cares. He promises to give us rest. He understands that carrying the load as single parents has its challenges, and that loneliness is indeed a burden. God never intended that we should handle any burden alone. Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew 6:30(NLT), “And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” Heavenly Father doesn’t want us to walk around carrying pain and hurt, thinking that no one cares. He cares, and that is more than enough.
When you feel depleted on every level, and you’re concerned that no one understands your weariness and exhaustion, God does. He understands and wants us to come to Him first. It’s true that we don’t have to contend with the demands and hardships of those generations before us, but the pace and challenges of our time are unique as well. We need rest, the kind that only Heavenly Father can give through the Lord Jesus Christ, and to receive it all we have to do is ask. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“You Will Find Rest”, written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.