Tag Archives: Matthew 11

Turning Weariness into Rest and Joy

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (Mathew 11:28)

 Have you ever noticed how the same workload can seem easy one day and insurmountably overwhelming the next?

A few days ago, work seemed effortless, as I cruised along in the Rivers of Living Water, experiencing the joy of the Lord’s nearness.

However, only a day later, I  trudged through a dry dusty riverbed, pulling an overloaded donkey cart of work. Everything was difficult, stress mounted, people faded from focus.

I sit wondering what happened, Why the drastic change?

Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28 come to mind: Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Weary and heavy-laden, fatigued and over-burdened. That’s how I feel. But the work load hasn’t changed. Why has my heart shifted from delight to drudgery?

I pore over the words again, stopping at the first phrase.

Come to Me.

But I’m already with you, I thought. You’re in me and I’m in You.[1] [2]  You hold the universe together.[3] How can I be any closer to you than I already am?

I pull up my Strongs concordance app and dig into the word – “Come”

In the original Greek the word  “come” means “come hither” or “come this way”.

Jesus is always with me, but He’s asking me for a deeper “withness”.

I think of being with people in an elevator. They are with me, but unless we engage, there’s no connection.

One of my earliest memories comes to mind. I remember being woken up and seeing someone enter the room through the bars of a crib. I’m not sure who the person was, probably my mother, but they picked me up and took care of me.

Next I remember a little later being led by the hand by my great grandmother,  whom I called”Mommie,”  We were walking very slowly around a small a body of water.

I don’t know how I know it was Mommie, but I do. We must have been at my grandparent’s place in Pompano Beach, Florida. And it must have been the garden pool in the midst of their nursery she was leading me around. I was so small, so dependent on her guiding hand.

I was a mere toddler, but to this day I feel the love of those moments. Mommie led me with such tender care.

As I think back to that event in light of my current situation, clarity emerges.  

Mommie was not giving me directions from far away, expecting me to walk on my own. Her soft hand, firmly embracing my little fingers, communicated, “walk this way child. I’ll guide you and show you where to go. And I’ll support your feeble legs every step of the way.”

Wow. I’d let go of the Lord’s hand. I’d lost the joy of His presence. I’d begun to look at work as just work, instead of the adventure He wanted us to have together.

“I’m sorry, Lord,” I confess.

I feel no condemnation, no displeasure, just an invitation.

I lift my hand and hear Him say, “Come this way.”

Resttake ease, refresh, refrain, come to an end.

[1] Galatians 2:20

[2] Ephesians 2:4-6

[3] Colossians 1:17

Resting at Work

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (Mathew 11:28)

 True rest can happen even in the midst of work.

Have you ever noticed that the same workload can seem easy one day and insurmountably overwhelming the next? A few days ago, work seemed effortless, as I cruised along in the Rivers of Living Water, experiencing the joy of the Lord’s nearness. However, only a day later, I  trudged through a dry dusty riverbed, pulling an overloaded donkey cart of work.

What happened?

As is my plan, when I noticed the shift in my heart, I reached for the  truth of God’s word. This time I turned to  Matthew 11:28. As I read, I knew the Lord was talking to me. I felt weary and heavy-laden, fatigued and over-burdened.

Come to Me, I read

But I’m already with you, I thought. You’re in me and I’m in You.[1] [2]  You hold the universe together.[3] There must be more to it.

Digging in, I discovered that the Greek word for “come” means “come hither” or “come this way”.

Jesus is always with me, but here He is asking me for a deeper “withness”. I thought of being with people in an elevator. They are with me, but unless we engage, there’s no connection.

Conversely, one of my earliest memories was  walking with my great grandmother. She held my hand and  guided me around a swimming pool. Being with her was not an option. I would have been in danger without her.

This is the level of “withness” Jesus is asking of me. When I comply, the rest comes. In my backward thinking,  rest only  comes when all the work is done. Which is never, because there’s always something else to do.

The rest Jesus is offering happens even in the midst of  work, a byproduct of  heeding His call to “come this way”.

Rest – take ease, refresh, refrain, come to an end.  My striving, my focus on work, needs to end.

My dutiful, weary day happened not because of the amount of work, but because work had become my focus. I knew Christ is my life, but I was living as if work was my life.

Being with Jesus is rest. Taking His yoke upon me is literally giving Him my burdens. In His yoke, my burden becomes His. The weightiest task feels light when I’m following Him. “For My yoke is easy and My load is light.” (Matthew 28:30)

Lord, I’m sorry I became so focused on work. You are my Life. Please keep me ever aware of your nearness and strength that I might continually be attentive to your leading.

Challenge: Is there an area of your life where you feel weary and over-burdened? If so, lean in close to Jesus so that He can say ‘come this way.’ His way will be light and powerfully effective. Handling the burdens on your own is not only wearisome, but completely ineffective.

 

[1] Galatians 2:20

[2] Ephesians 2:4-6

[3] Colossians 1:17