Come To Me...

"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." Matthew 11:28-30

I love this scripture. This is a promise that I have held onto so many times in my life. I believe that this scripture so clearly describes the character of Jesus and His desire for our lives.

Many nights, I lay in bed and look back on my day. I realize that most of the day I was hurried, frazzled, tired, and weary. I spend my time allowing myself to become burdened by worry, anxiety, and fear. It is in those moments that I remember the words of my Savior, "Come to me...I will give you rest."

When we think about relaxing, we often think about a massage, a nice bubble bath, or a day at the spa. How many of us can say that when we think about relaxation, we think about Jesus? How many of us truly come to Him when we are burdened and allow Him to give us rest?

I must say that I do come to Him quite often. However, allowing myself to rest in Him is not as easy. I often find myself treating Jesus as my best friend. I tell Him everything and ask for His wisdom and counsel. But, once I have told Him everything, I continue to worry about or try to control the situation. You see, in order for Jesus to give us rest, we have to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him. We have to stop trying to control everything that happens in our lives, and give all of the control over to Him.

There are so many things in our world today that can make us weary. Many of us worry, some deal with issues of obsession and control, others have relationship issues that are exhausting. We allow our circumstances to burden us and we become tired and stressed.

Let me assure you that this is not the life that Jesus has for you. He does not want you to be weary and longs to give you rest. His gentleness and humbleness can be refreshing and renewing. Just the thought of sitting with Jesus and allowing Him to take on my burdens brings peace to my soul.

This weekend, our oldest child was crying because some of his friends were not wanting to play with him. His heart was broken because he felt unwanted and insecure. He wanted to be part of what everyone else was doing and when he didn't fit in the way he wanted, he became very upset. As a parent, I just wanted to take that burden from him and make everything okay. I wanted to tell him that everyone loves him and not to worry about such a small thing.

Don't you know that God feels that way so often? When we come to Him broken and upset, He longs to show us how small our lives really are when compared to eternity and the life we will have with Him when we leave this world.

However, while we are here, the only thing we can do is find joy in knowing that our Savior has promised rest from the world in Him. He is waiting for us to come and rest in His arms. He is longing for us to sit at His feet and find a peace surprasses our understanding.

Are you living the life that you have been called to live? Do you allow Jesus to bring rest and peace to your life? Or do you spend every moment of your life searching for a way to find rest and relaxation?

Ask God to remind you that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. When you begin to feel tired and stressed, stop and come to Him. When you come, don't just come, but come and unload. He promises that He can take it and is more than willing to give you the rest and relaxation you need and deserve!

Some Things to Think About:

1) What makes you weary?
2) Do you try to find rest and relaxation in things of the world or do you allow Jesus to be your place of rest?
3) How often do you "unload" your burdens on Jesus and allow Him to take them from your life?

Words of Worth:

"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." Matthew 11:28-30

"Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Phillipians 4:6

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 4:7