Find Your Rest In the Lord

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

(Matthew 11:28)

There have been many times in my life, even after coming to Christ, when I’ve felt the weight of the world lying squarely on my shoulders. There are always pressing matters of life that vie for my attention. With everything going on, it’s often hard to shut my racing mind down and fall asleep. I rarely do any heavy physical labor any longer but that doesn’t mean I have no burdens. Things come up on a daily basis that I have to wrestle with. Sometimes I feel like there is no end to them.

The times we are living in right now sometimes make me anxious about what lies ahead.  In looking around at our world, I don’t see a whole lot to give me a warm, fuzzy feeling. The political environment seems to be fractured beyond anything a common person like me can do anything about. The business world isn’t much better. For instance, when it’s time for me to buy a new car, I tremble. I’ve been burned by car salesmen several times, so I’m always very apprehensive about having to even step into a dealership.

I am also in the twilight part of my life. I realize the time is short and there is still much to do in sharing the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. I get weary and discouraged when those I care about the most, don’t respond. I feel burdened by the fact that most of the people I am trying to reach with the gospel, will simply refuse to believe, or even listen. I struggle with feelings that I’m not doing enough, that I’m failing the Lord. Then, I have to take a breath and remember Jesus is where I will find rest. He isn't called the Prince of Peace for no reason

Adding all that up is when I feel weighed down by my everyday life. Work, family, friends, and sometimes even the church will all pull me in different directions. Life can be hectic, there’s no other word for it. That’s when it’s time to remember this scripture. If I give all my cares to the one who saved me, he will lift the burden and allow me to rest in his everlasting peace and comfort.

Our Father in heaven, we have everything to gain from a relationship with you, but you only get our praise and worship. It’s a covenant heavily lopsided in our favor and benefits us, saving us from destruction. Our gratitude cannot be sufficiently expressed. Not only have you provided for our redemption, you offer us rest from our burdens. We are weighed down with the cares of our daily lives. When we come to you with the stresses the world has piled on us, we can be sure we will find relief in your open arms. Sometimes, we are burdened with the guilt of our own sins. We know you have forgiven us, but we have a tough time forgiving ourselves. We ask you to assure us our past sins have been forgotten by you and we should put them behind us also. Help us to learn from our previous missteps so, not to fall into the same behavior again. We are thankful for the rest we find in you and want the same for everyone we know. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!