Got rest?

For the full context of this post read Matthew 11: 28 - 30.

As a kid, my family was always on the go. My father worked two full time jobs, one in the corporate world and one as the pastor of a church. My mom cared for her family who lived with us,helped my dad with the church, and ran a school. There was always room at the table for one more person, and if there wasn’t room, everyone knew where to find a folding table to extend the table for more. The house was always full and busy. Everyone worked hard and there was seemingly no down time. It’s what I knew. As an adult, my life is not much different. I work, exercise, take care of children and the house, my brain never stops and there is still no down time. It’s what I know and it can be exhausting. Jesus promised to give rest to the weary.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Going to Jesus for rest is hard for me to do. There may be a stubbornness that believes weariness is failure. There may be an undertone that believes I must accomplish everything on my own without asking for help. There may be a fear that believes Jesus won’t really give rest to me. If I am honest, I probably don’t believe I deserve it, therefore I don’t trust that this promise is for me.

Jesus said he is gentle and humble in heart. I can pause for that. I long to know what it is like to be loved by someone who is gentle and humble in heart. There is fear there. There’s apprehension that maybe I don’t deserve his gentleness and that maybe he won’t be that for me. But there is enough faith in my soul to pause. It’s hard for me to ask for help or admit exhaustion. Instead, I’m developing the trust to say, “Okay, Jesus. Show me what it’s like to be loved by a gentle and humble heart.” When I do that, I feel a little rest.

If you’re like me and feel undeserving of rest for your soul, you need to know that all of God’s promises are for you. He wants to give you rest. Dare to get to know the Jesus who is gentle and humble. As you draw closer to him, you will begin to feel his rest.