Rest for your weary souls

Matt 11:28-12:1-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.

Are you struggling with life? Are you hurting inside? Is there something you need that you’ve learned just doesn’t exist anywhere else? Perhaps you have been going and going and there does not seem to be an end to it all. Are you taking care of a parent whose health is failing them? Or maybe you have gone from a two income household to a one income household. Do you feel the stress of day to day living pressing in upon you?

Christ paints two pictures in the passage above. One picture is of extreme weariness. This is the person who has gone as far as they can; they can go no farther, they cannot take another step. The other picture is of extreme pressure. This is the person is about to explode; they cannot take anymore. Christ does not say what caused the weariness or pressure (heavy burdens) whatever caused the weariness or the pressure he gives a great and open invitation to all. He says Come unto him.

The first invitation is to come. Who is to come? The weary and the burdened the person who is laboring and heavy laden, weary and burden, exhausted and despairing, extremely tired and weighed down, ready to stop and collapse.

What are some of the things that exhaust us: relationships, work, family, activities, and fears, just to name a few?

Jesus is a keen observer of people. His eyes are always wide open to people, to their situations, to their struggles and to their burdens. We never see Jesus distracted or disinterested. Even at times when He is on His way to important events, the church, dinner, a meal with friends, He allows for unscheduled interactions and interruptions involving people.

Why should the weary and heavy laden come to Christ, very simply, Christ will give them rest. Christ will give rest to the struggling and despairing soul and to the empty and lonely soul no matter how intense the struggle and despair or the emptiness and loneliness. No person has gone too far for Christ to inject His rest into him, if the person will call only upon Christ.

What are the conditions for finding this rest? There is only one condition. A person must simply take Christ yoke and begin to learn of Him. This simply means that we are to learn how to live and labor under his leadership direction, guidance and care.

Every man has his yoke, that is, his life to life and his task to do while on earth. There are plenty of roads in life that promise joy, health, peace, or transformation. Most of them, however, don't lead in that direction. You can literally exhaust yourself seeking all the things the world promises you if you just work harder and spend more money.

There is rest for your weary souls! Come, Take, and Find Rest. God Loves You and so do I…. Pastor Tammy