Weary? Need Rest? | AllWorship.com

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mat 11:28-30 NIV)

Jesus speaks of rest in today’s Scripture passage. Ummm, what is that? Seems I once had a memory of something pleasant associated with the word …

Although I am being facetious, there is a thread of reality here. In a time when technology and innovation are expected to make our lives easier, they are more difficult, stressed, and wearisome than any prior time I can recall. In fact, some past busy times could be R&R compared to now.

Given that, let’s look at today’s passage from a life-application perspective. After all, what good are they if they cannot make a difference? Jesus’ words are direct–and oh, do we need them NOW! The question is: Can they work in real time for us?

Jesus said plainly to come to Him if we are weary and burdened. I could add descriptors like stressed, burned out, “brain-tired”, or at wits’ end. Do Jesus’ words really apply to these, or are they only spiritual concepts? While many consider them the latter, I do not.

Jesus promises to give us rest and assures us that we will find it. Both are conditional and require faith and action on our part–and both work in real time and the real world.

Things like mental weariness, feeling burdened, e.g., too much on our plate (and resulting hopelessness or anxiety) exist in our minds. This is not to imply that circumstances are not relevant. They are, however, this is about what we feel because feelings are the root of what Jesus addresses here.

Feelings (emotions) are products of our mind. Our mind is a function of our brain. Our brain, being the remarkable control center that it is, manages everything that happens in our bodies. It even controls emotions through the regulation of chemical reactions and balances, hormones, blood chemistry, and so much more that affect our mood, state of mind, and even our perception of reality.

When our brain functions correctly, we feel better. When not, we feel worse. When we trust what Jesus said and allow faith to function as He intended, our brains work better. It creates the right chemical and hormonal balances in our bodies to give us a sense of well-being, a positive outlook, and a lot, lot more.

As proof of this, try sleeping restfully when you are feeling a lot of negative pressure. Virtually impossible, it is. Thoughts go round and round, up and down, with “what if” scenarios playing endlessly. Sleep is nowhere to be found.

On the other hand, can you sleep restfully when really good things happen in your life? Ehhh … you may have a little trouble in that case too: your head may actually have to hit the pillow before you fall asleep.

When we trust that Jesus is actively watching over and working in our lives for our good, our minds will be more at peace, and our brain functions more as He created it to function. We can rest knowing that our primary responsibility is not to fix all the things going wrong but to trust His wisdom and understanding with faith that He will work it all out–even if we cannot understand how at the moment.

In that case, you will literally find rest for your soul, as He promised. Your soul consists of your conscious awareness, the nonconscious functions of your mind, as well as your emotions and learned knowledge. By it, you make decisions (will) and have some measure of control over your life. Another way of saying this is that your soul is the functionality of your awareness managed by your brain.

Will your soul be at rest and peace as you trust Jesus? The more you are able to trust, the more at rest you will be. I asked above, ‘How can this work in real time and the real world?’ I hope this helps you understand how it all works together: Faith, Jesus’ promises; your mind, will, and emotions.

Do you need more rest and peace? Then develop greater faith and trust. That’s the way it works. The ultimate result is that we put our anxiety and uncertainty on Him and He gives us His love, assurance, and the certainty that He is working for our good in every situation we encounter–to the degree we allow Him to do so.

And therein lies rest for your soul. Jesus promised to do the heavy lifting. Let Him.