Rest is only found in one place.
Torment is found in a multitude of places.
It’s true that we are all going to encounter various trials.
Every single one of us at some point in time will experience the floor falling out from underneath us.
The question when such events happens is this: Where will you go?
Who will you turn to?
What do you do?
There’s something about the unplanned, the unexpected that sends our soul into a downward spiral.
Biblically speaking, your soul is comprised of your thoughts, your emotions, and your will (your capacity to make choices).
Typically, tragedy, hardship, and difficulties have a way of hijacking our peace. They afflict our minds and often paralyze us or pressure us when it comes to decision making.
It’s as if they cause time to stand still and it seems like all we can do is think about and feel all that comes alongside the stress of the moment.
Sadly, we often spend more time fellowshipping and staring at what just took place than we do with the One who holds our peace.
Although I’ve written on these verses in the past, I felt compelled to write on them again simply because of what jumped out at me this morning while reading them.
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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.” — Matthew 11:28-30
You will find rest for your souls…
Where?
How?
When?
The moment you come to Him…
The moment you surrender your trying to figure it out…
The moment you stop trying to make sense of everything…
The moment you stop trying to do it on your own…
This is where, how, and when you will find rest.
Rest for the soul is found in humbly coming to Jesus and confessing that you can’t do it on your own and that you need Him to shoulder what you’ve been carrying.
Rest is found in the strength of His ability, not yours.
Rest is found in His understanding, not yours.
Rest is not found in the denial of a problem; rather, it’s found in acknowledging Him in the midst of it.
Rest is not found in the absence of conflict; rather, it’s found when your weakness opens the door to His strength in the face of the battle.
Your thoughts, your emotions, your ability to choose… they will find rest when we learn from Him.
Please never forget that the greatest teaching Jesus ever taught was the example of His own life.
He modeled what it looked like to completely surrender His life into the arms of His Father.
He was gentle and humble in heart.
He was humble in all that He did.
Surrender is humility.
Saying that you can’t and acknowledging that He can is lowliness.
There’s no reward in trying to be strong when you feel weak.
Pretending accomplishes nothing. You aren’t going to win an Oscar for the role you’re playing.
But you can experience rest from the torment of your racing thoughts, emotions, and pressure to choose or act when you go low before Him.
If what is on your shoulders feels heavy, it’s not the yoke of Jesus.
It’s simply the pressure to figure it all out and to do it all on your own.
It’s torment.
If you’re feeling weary and weighed down, it could be that you’re spending more time in concern over what’s befallen you than you are about sitting at His feet.
If I’m speaking to you, please do me a favor. The moment you stop reading this, go get alone and allow all of your thoughts to drift to how marvelous, how amazing, how beautiful, how loving, how kind, and how capable Jesus is.
To put on the yoke of Jesus is to allow His grace to carry and accomplish what you can’t.
Surrender today.
You’ll be glad you did.
- Brian Connolly, Faith Like Birds Ministries