Rest

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” — Matthew 11:28-30

Every so often, a thought or phrase comes to my mind—and occasionally out of my mouth—that began with my mother. Interestingly, these nuggets of knowledge have increased in wisdom as I have gotten older. One of my favorite truisms of hers is the saying “Anything that comes between you and God is closer to God than you are.”

 

I try to use this as my guide stone in keeping my priorities in order. Sometimes, however, I concentrate so hard on juggling the balls of life’s responsibilities, that I step back to allow for more space to juggle. Eventually, I am overwhelmed by it and the burden is too much. That is when I realize that I have moved away from the Lord.

 

Each one of us faces struggles that are both unique to ourselves and in common with other humans. Jesus’ Jewish listeners wanted desperately to know God the Father and be approved by Him. Their religious leaders placed enormous burdens on them with their ‘yoke’ of legalistic traditions. Jesus offered relief from the regulations of the Pharisees through discipleship. An easy and serviceable ‘yoke’ because of His teaching, it equips us to live our lives in the way God designed them to be lived.

 

It is critical to remember that discipleship to Jesus isn’t essentially a religious obligation. We have an intimate relationship with the Lord. The one who calls, “Come to me’ and “Learn from me” offers rest for those who are weary and burdened. He offers rest for the soul.

 

When we look at following Christ from the world view, it can mean taking on difficult circumstances and giving up worldly pleasures. When we see it from the view of salvation, it means giving up the impossible task of carrying our own sin.

 

As complicated as life can become, we must take care not to step back to allow more space to juggle things on our own. We need to remove all barriers between us and Jesus. Discipleship is simple, really. It is at the heart of walking with Jesus in the real world, while He teaches us moment by moment how to live life His way. Jesus still lovingly extends His invitation, Come to me and I will give you rest.

 

Dear Lord,

Thank you for the assurance that rest can be found in being yoked to You.