Matthew 11-12.1.21
Scripture
Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Observation-What does it say?
“These last three verses of Matthew 11 are called the Great Invitation. Those invited are "all ye that labor and are heavy laden." Christ's teaching has a special appeal for the poor, the downtrodden, the despised, rejected, and suffering of earth; but it is incorrect to assume that only these are invited. Rather, all people are invited to fly unto Jesus for peace and redemption; and, in one sense or another, at one time or another, by some means or another, every soul ever born into this world is "weary," "heavy laden," and troubled by the common sorrows and calamities to which flesh is heir. In this larger view of the unmitigated sorrow in which all men dwell, the Great Invitation excludes no one. The common burden of sin, sickness, death, doubt, disillusionment, and sorrow is an invariable heritage of every man coming into the world. Reasons why men should come to Christ are: (1) for the rest He will give, (2) for the rest they will find, and (3) because Christ is meek and lowly in heart, thus fully qualified to provide sympathy, love, understanding, and whatever else may be required to alleviate human distress and to provide eternal life.” (Reference: Coffman Commentaries on studylight.org)
Understanding-What does it mean?
True rest comes from Jesus Christ alone.
Sometimes I hear people say that they need a vacation from their vacation. This just proves that external rest never satisfies the way internal rest with the Lord does!
We find rest, refreshing and a lifting of the burdens from our souls by being with the Lord, knowing that we are loved, forgiven and cherished by Him just because He chose us first.
Life Application
Take a break with Jesus. We are LOVED by Him just because we are His child.
Work is holy and is part of worshipping the Lord as Pastor would say; however, resting in Jesus is a form of worship too! As Pastor would also say, we work FROM rest.
24 hours starting from Tuesday night to Wednesday night are naturally my days off or Sabbath rest with Jesus. Without being legalistic, this sometimes gets switched around, but I was definitely NOT created to run 7 days a week! I used to do that when I was younger and it would run me to the ground! I need to get off the hamster wheel and stop to reflect once a week, whether that means getting off of social media or not answering my phone unless it’s an emergency, to just quiet everything down and journal, listen and pray. The work will always be there the next day and it’s healthy for people to not to be dependent on me (or any of us) every single day.
What does rest look like for you? What needs to change in your schedule to make sure resting in Jesus becomes a priority? Praying that we all seek true rest for our souls through the Lord.
Worship Song: (Come to the Altar by Elevation Worship)
https://youtu.be/ycWDFd0yCHA
-Michelle Gaddi