Rest

Matt. 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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 will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Ahhh, one of the all-time best verses ever written in my mind's eye. Just reading it gives me peace. If only it were as easy to do as one would think it could be! 

It is a two-step, give-and-take transition.

Step 1: Give

The cares of this world were not meant to make us weary.  It is God's world.  We are His people, the battle is between good and evil.  We take on burdens that never were meant for our shoulders.  We are sheep, not oxen.  But here we are, taking ownership of this world and all its problems.  This would be like the sheep looking out at the field and saying, "Okay, time for me to plow this field."  Not your job, Fluffy.  Not only will the job not be done properly, but it will waste energy that could be better put to use in other ways. Let the One who CAN be the one to do it.  

Step 2: Take 

What are we taking?  His yoke. Rest. Jesus did not come to earth to kick back.  How often is he standing in front of crowds, teaching?  Often, He is feeding them literal food with the Bread of Life or serving physical water with the Living Water.  He came to serve.  And often like Peter refusing his feet be washed, we will not accept His service.  But Jesus reminds Peter that unless he allows this service, he can have no part with Jesus.

It sounds easy. But, as always, we make it difficult. Why do we want so much to hold onto our burdens?  Once again, we think we know better.  I'm sure you have heard how dumb sheep can be.  I bet if you put a yoke on a sheep, it would think it actually could plow the field. And, like a child who refuses to take a nap, we might just be afraid of missing something. That child does not know what is best, and neither do we. We think to ourselves, 'What if ...God really does evaluate us on how much we can carry in His name?'  We just don't trust!  

Don't miss this next part -- learn from me.  How will we know what to do unless we listen?  And listen closely.  Not the multi-tasking listening that Martha was planning to do.  Clean up, serve & feed, listen on the fly. I think this is why He tells us to lay down our burdens first and pick up the easy yoke.  He gave us steps - Stop.  Put down the broom.  Listen. We should have nothing else in our minds between our ears and His words.  Then our minds are free to absorb them all.

Will life be easy?  No, but our burden will be.  Set down the yoke, Fluffy, and give it to Him.