“Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” ~ Matthew 11:28
Jesus, lover and shepherd of my soul, you promise rest to those who will come unto you, confessing weakness and weariness, and laying every burden down. It is a rest that affects the physical, but is deeper. You promise spiritual, soul rest to those who will come.
But sometimes I find that coming unto you is not my first response to the burdens I face. Sometimes I try even harder. I labor with even more effort, only to become even wearier than I was before. This is especially true when I face your law. I want so badly to be able to say, “I have done it. I am worthy.”
Maybe coming unto you is so difficult because it means admitting that I am unable to meet the demands of the law. It means that I am weak and that I am needy. I can’t do it. And so, in order to rest, I must confess that deep in my heart I am restless. Your gracious call to me is for me to freely admit that the burden of the law and of life is far to weighty for me to carry.
Father, I thank you for showing me, even though the lessons have been painful, that it is only when I realize my inability to carry the load that I can experience rest. For your words to the apostle Paul are words that the Spirit is speaking to me: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” And the response of my heart echos the apostle, saying, “Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest on me… for when I am weak, then I am strong.” How counterintuitive is that reasoning… How the logic of the gospel turns conventional, human wisdom upside down (or should I say right side up)!
And yet my flesh is averse to confessing weakness. And so the result: I live with a weary spirit and a burdened heart. How desperate I am for spiritual rest! Help me to listen and learn. For your word tells me to ”be strong in the Lord.” In the Lord. Yes, that is the key for resting and being renewed with spiritual strength. For it is in resting that I am renewed. And being renewed, empowered by your Spirit.
And so, what would it be like to rest like this? To really rest? Maybe I need to start with pyhsical rest? Maybe I need to take seriously your instruction to enjoy a sabbath. Maybe I need to to learn how to call it a day, put my feet up, enjoy some tea, take a nap, and then throw the ball with my son. Maybe taking a break from vocational work will teach me that you, Jesus, have worked for me—that I must live by your saving and sustaining grace. That is the lesson of the Sabbath, isn’t it? In teaching the Israelites their need for physical rest, you were providing a powerful analogy for their, and my, need for spiritual rest. You were the provider of the manna in the wilderness, and the provider of the Manna on the cross.
And so this day, Jesus, my prayer is that I would hear your call to come unto you as my sovereign and saving God, confessing my weary and burdened heart, and then experiencing rest as I have never known. That I would so relax my soul in your grace and love, that the rest of the gospel would fill my heart—a rest that permeates—utterly saturates—my soul with your peace. So that when I speak, it may be rested speech… when I walk, it may be unhurried… when I pray, it may be empty of duty and guilt, and full of intimacy, peace and joy. Jesus, for your glory, teach me to rest.
