Sunday, May 25, 2008

Rest For The Weary

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
- Matthew 11:28

It seems that everyone around me is tired. Eyebags are prominent and the most common groan is "Sien ah..." or "Shag ah shag..." or "I'm so tired... I don't know why." And that's just within the first years doing Veterinary Science around me. The world is a tired place it seems. Everyone is rushing around trying to make a living, build a life, live the life of the world. Inefficiency, frustration and depression come from fatigue. Isn't that obvious? Evidently not. I'm learning that slowly too (and I just told it to you! Those who cannot do... teach?).

Jesus was quite aware of the world around Him, how eventually even the strongest man, the most righteous man, the most God-fearing man would tire and would stumble. For the treasures, or should I say burdens, of the world are heavy. Jesus calls His sheep to Him, asking for a belief in Him that He might give rest to those who believe:

"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 11:29-30

As we chase our goals and run headfirst through the lives laid out for us, whether by God or circumstance, we slowly but surely build up fatigue. Anyone who objects raise your hand and say so! God knows how fruitless fatigue can be so He calls out to those who would hear and proclaims:

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint."
- Jeremiah 31:25

The promise is this: God will give you rest. There is no loophole, no disclaimer, no condition upon your heart. When you come to God to worship Him, even with one song, there is a peace and strengthening of the spirit. Just for a moment, all the burdens of the world fall away. All frustrations fade away in the joy of God.

Yeah, never believed I'd be saying this sort of thing either ;) It's true though. Try it.

I'm not sure how much people understand that the cross is not only a symbol of God's triumph over sin and the Lord's sacrifice for the lost people of the world but a burial place. This burial place is a burial place, not for man, not for animal but for the problems you face in your life. All the uncertainty, all the frustration, irritation, sinful nature and addictions that you ever faced in your life. Bury them at the cross and know the truth that:

God loves you, Jesus loves you and He will give you rest.

Are you being bowed down by work, studying, strife or worry? While work and studying are undoubtedly necessary and strife can sometimes be inevitable, worry is not. In Chapter 12 of the book of Luke, Jesus said to His disciples:

"Therefore I tell you, do no worry about your life, what you will eat or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes."
- Luke 12:22-23

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?"
- Luke 12:25-26

There you have it. Why worry? Sure, it's natural to want to know what's going to happen next, whether everything will be alright. But that's what trusting God is about. Placing your burdens at His feet and letting go of your worry just for the while. At the end of the day, if you can just let it all go, Jesus will give you rest, both spiritual and physical, giving you the strength to carry yourself through the trials you face, tomorrow. Let them go for today. When tomorrow comes then you can worry about it.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
- Matthew 7:34

And if ever you feel that the rest God promises is unattainable, please realize that Jesus too, though divine, was human too. He felt the same hunger, sadness and tiredness that you do. Yet He endured by his faith and trust in the Father. If Jesus Christ knew to come to God for rest, how much more should you come to Him for a break? And maybe a Kit-Kat.

"The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down."
- Psalms 145:14

Be at peace and be at rest. Go get some! :)

May you find the peace of God in your life.

Amen.

2 comments:

David Ould said...

hey TX! great to see you toddling along!

In terms of how the Bible thinks about real rest, you may want to add a read of Hebrews 3-4 to your toolkit!

in Him

David

TX said...

Hi David,

Thanks for that! Toddlers do need to be pointed in the right direction once in a while don't they?

=)

TX