Restful Thinking

This morning I came across in my reading, a verse that I’m sure all of us have read multiple times. If you’re anything like me then you probably have even found yourself quoting this very same passage to your stressed friends during finals’ week or to your anxious family around the time bills are due. However, this time was different (it’s amazing how God’s living Word is alive enough to reveal the complexities and facets that are present within something as simple as a verse). This time, my whole perspective and everything that for years I have been preaching to fellow students was slightly shifted. Jesus, through his grace, and luckily through my attentive ears, spoke meaning into my life that unlocked a whole new perspective on rest.

Yes rest.

The thing we all know we need, but never seem to be able to achieve. That ever allusive roadrunner that we willingly spend more energy chasing than actually capturing.

So you may be internally asking yourself, “What’s this magical revelation I have discovered that will instantly provide rest.” But before we go any further I need to clarify one point: What I learned this morning isn’t some enchanted formula that will instantly provide rest and rest to its fullest, instead it is a little extra understanding into just who Jesus is. In case you didn’t pick up on it, I discovered more about a who than a what.

Today during my time with Jesus (a future blog will be coming shortly on what I mean about this) I read, like so many other times, the passage of Matt: 11:28-30 that says…

              

             “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.”

For some reason the words leapt off of the page and rearranged themselves out of my provincial perspective and into a slightly different meaning. You see, I have always been taught to think that this passage implied that we were yoked with Jesus (for those of you who don’t know what a yoke looks like Google images does wonders). I always thought that the passage above meant we shared shouldering burdens with Jesus and since He is so much bigger and stronger than us that basically He did all of the heavy lifting and we were left to enjoy the ride. Now I’m not saying that this viewpoint is wrong but I’m challenging you to open up your mind to the possibilities of another…

Jesus isn’t yoked with us; He is the Master who places us under His yoke

This may be common sense to you, but this slightly different perspective changed everything for me. To me, this means that we have no choice in the matter but to “learn from [Him],” to go where He directs us. But there’s even more, the yoke He places upon our shoulders is one that is “gentle” and easy”. And last but certainly not least, this passage, if you read it carefully, implies that rest isn’t found by the absence of work, but by the presence of Jesus in our work (notice how He said that we will find rest only once we come under His yoke!)

Jesus longs to give us rest. He longs for our hearts to let go off everything in our life that’s producing stress. But He does not want us to find rest by forsaking everything, and sitting on a couch all day.

God has bigger plans for us.

God is inviting us to be His hands and feet, and in it experience a rest like we have never known.

There’s work to do…

Merely,

Chris Gerac

“I may be weak, but Your Spirit is strong in me,

My flesh may fail, but My God, you never will.” -Elevation Worship