Rest for the Weary
Are you carrying an impossibly heavy burden? Are you trying to manage a massive load all by yourself? Are there wounds and worries that are weighing down your soul?
It doesn’t have to be this way …
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
Jesus wasn’t saying to come to Him and do nothing. He’s not saying to quit your job and abandon your life and move to a deserted island. This isn’t a call to be idle, but an invitation to rest—and to work from rest.
A yoke is a device used for joining two animals together for a purpose like farm work—for plowing a field or pulling a heavy load. As always, two are stronger than one.
Jesus’ mention of the yoke implies there is still work to be done, but we don’t have to do it alone.
You have a Savior who is humble and gentle, whose compassion is deep and whose love is wide. He is so wild about you that He left the glories of heaven and became human to suffer and die—in order that you might live.
We must draw near to the One who carried the biggest burden of all—the sin and rebellion of the world. The One who conquered death and defeated the grave will eventually redeem all things … once and for all.
God longs for us to come close, to fall in step beside Him, and to lean into His grace. Why? Because we thrive when we live and work from a place of genuine rest.
He’s inviting you to come. Will you? If you’re not sure where to start, simply ask Him for help.
“And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest? Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, ...