“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” ~ Matthew 11:28
REFERENCE:
I have been hearing, ‘Rest in Me,’ in my spirit, and recently, in our church service, a word of prophecy came after a worship session; the substance of the message is God saying, “Rest in Me, My people.” What encouraging and reassuring words, as many people find age-long support systems fail them! Today’s temptation is to double one’s hustle, but God says rest.
The toughness of the times can drag people to the precipice of anxiety, depression, or thoughts of quitting. There is hardly anywhere you turn where you are not hearing stories of economic difficulties, wars, mass shootings, romance scams, internet frauds, etc. Hopelessness is at an all-time high. There is no better time for the words of Jesus’ invitation in our text than today.
Jesus said, “Come to me…and I will give you rest.” Amid today’s uncertainties, what the soul needs is true rest. Rest means several things: To allow to be inactive in order to regain strength, health, or energy. It is a period of relaxing or ceasing to engage in strenuous or stressful activity. It is finding someone or something that can support you if you lean on them.
Jesus is saying to you and me, “Look to and trust Me. I will give you a break from the mental stress you have endured in the past months; I will take over your battles and give you victory; I will ensure you are taken care of and that your needs are supplied, not based on your efforts, but according to My riches. Rest in Me. You cannot rest in Me and be stressing yourself at the same time. I cannot be driving and have you struggle with me for the steering. Learn to Rest!”
Psalm 127:2 (GNT) says, “It is useless to work so hard for a living, getting up early and going to bed late. For the Lord provides for those He loves, while they are asleep.” Sleep is figurative of rest, yet it does not stop God from providing. Adam was put to sleep (rest) before he could get his wife. Resting in God is not a posture of negligence or laziness; it is a statement of complete trust in God’s ability to take care of you; it is faith in the One who says, “I will give you rest.”
PHOTO QUOTE
ADDITIONAL TEXTS:
Psalm 127:1-2, Isaiah 28:16, and Psalm 116:6-10
PRAYER POINT
+ Pray for strength in your inner man to keep you secure in your faith.
+ Father, I ask that You teach me to rest in You; let Your peace rule in my mind and soul.
+ I thank You because I will begin to see You provide for me while in my trusting rest.
