Come Unto Me

rest

It’s finally Friday. What are you looking forward to? Taking a break from your “normal” routine? Splurging with all kinds of food you haven’t eaten because of your diet? Taking a loooooong afternoon nap? Rest from routine is very important. In fact, it’s commanded in Matthew 11:28–30, which says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, 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 shall find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Called to Come

When Christ says, “Come to me,” He means it literally. This invitation is for everyone who is tired of life, weary, or worry, done with trying to handle their own lives.  Elisabeth Elliott says, “We need to learn to walk side by side with Him, bearing humbly and gently the yoke He places on us . . . if we do this, any burden He allows—of loss or pain or insult or responsibility or heartbreak—will be both bearable and light, for the weight is shared with Him.”

Told to Take

When Christ said, “Learn from me,” He showed us how by His example. He said, “I am gentle and humble in heart.” The yoke of Christ is an attitude. W. Glynn Evans says, “ As Jesus bent to the Father’s yoke in order to lift the burden of Calvary, so we bend to Christ’s yoke in gentle submission and He enables us to lift our cross and move forward to daily victory.”

Recommended to Rest

As we bear our yoke with Christ, we will find rest. Elisabeth Elliott says, “No yoke laid on us in this way will cause us to burn out or collapse.” This yoke itself will in fact be the very means of our finding rest. There is no form of recreation or relaxation or therapy to compare with the rest, the gentle ease of Christ’s yoke.

This weekend, I give you permission to rest. What does rest mean to you? Maybe you need to sit and read, worship, listen, wait, focus on God. The basics are found in Matthew 22:37: “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” Keep your mind set on the things above. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you.”

Resting in Him means waiting on His timing, following His will His ways.“The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you made the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, Lord, walking in the ways of your laws we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts,” Isaiah 26:7–8. It seems so simple, doesn’t it? Love God, worship God. For many of us, we must give ourselves permission to turn off our phones and computers. It’s OK to stop. “Be still and know that I am God,” Psalm 46:10. Yes, it’s possible to live from a place of rest, but we must “come unto Him’ first. OK, let your rest-full weekend begin. Right now.

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