Matthew 11:28-30 28Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] 29Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. 30For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good–not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne.
What a great scripture to start off the week! We can find rest in the presence of God. It says we will find rest- relief, ease, refreshment, recreation and blessed quiet for our souls. Jeremiah 6:16 says much the same the thing 16Thus says the Lord: Stand by the roads and look; and ask for the eternal paths, where the good, old way is; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Our souls are made up of our mind, our will and our emotions. I was just thinking last night of the many things I had to do this week and quite frankly I was getting a bit overwhelmed. My soul was definitely not at peace or rest. My mind was going crazy trying to figure out how I was going to have time to get everything done. My emotions were running high as I got more and more upset. Because I was so focused on how I could possibly accomplish everything, my will was getting weaker and weaker. Have you ever had so much to do that you just don’t even know where to start? As I was feeling frazzled I kept hearing a still, small voice in the back of my mind saying, cast your care, trust in the Lord, it’s going to be okay. (I didn’t quite listen to it) Then this morning I opened my Bible and read this passage. God is so good! What a great reminder that if I come to my heavenly Father, He will bring me to a place of freedom from mental or emotional anxiety.
I still have a lot to do this week, my workload didn’t magically disappear, the laundry didn’t wash itself, the house didn’t suddenly appear to be cleaned, the packing I have to do is not done yet. However, by taking the time to go to God I allowed His peace to fill me and the pressure lifted. When we come to a place where we are spending time in His Word, praying throughout our day, worshipping Him, and looking at every situation that we come across from the standpoint of, “What path would God want me to take,” we put ourselves in position to get His direction. When we follow His direction, when we walk in His ways, we find the peace we need. In the midst of the busyness it might not seem to make a whole lot of sense to take extra time to seek God, but somehow it just works! Don’t believe me? Try it. I challenge you to take a little time today to spend with God. If you’re at work, take a break for a few minutes and go outside and talk to Him. If you’re at home, put the kids down for a nap and worship Him for a little bit before you finish your housework. Tomorrow morning wake up a little bit earlier and spend some time in the Word. Keep your mind fixed on Him, and remember that His burden is light and easy.
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