11 October, 2013

Rest For the Weary

I don't have to tell anyone that we live in a world where the pace just seems to get faster and faster. Talking with many people I see that for way too many  people, the thought of rest seems to be a foreign concept that is just too good to be true. The thought of taking a break from work and home projects is simply more than many people think they can plausibly do. I have a friend that never seems to slow down. You can't even sit and have lunch without him answering his phone or text messages 5 or 6 times. I keep telling him he needs to turn off the phone now and then and give himself a break. I genuinely fear he will die young, and I have told him so. He is not alone. It seems that way to many people live that way. It's a proven fact that continual work with no rest makes people more prone to errors, and the quality of their work goes down. Still energy drinks and pills are a billion dollar per year industry for a reason.  

Rest is not only a mental and physical need... it's needed for your spiritual health as well. There is an old saying which states that there is no rest for the weary... but Jesus promises the just the opposite.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Personal problems can be just as wearing on us as work, maybe even more so. The good news is that God wants to take that from us too. Imagine if you will, unloading whatever it is that is weighing heavy on you onto someone else. That is exactly what God's Word tells us in 1 Peter 5:7, where it says, "Casting all your cares upon him, because He cares for you."  The word "casting" literally means "to heave" or "throw off". You don't have to carry it anymore! God says, "give it to me and let me manage this for you."  Jesus has promised that He will take your heavy burden from you. Not only that, but he says that in exchange, the burden that He gives to us is light and easy to manage. 

God's Word is clear.... He wants us to find and take our rest, physically, emotionally and spiritually. When we rest, we are renewed. When we are renewed, you will be able to do even greater things. One of the biggest problems in all of this however, is that so many people think that Sunday morning is the day to sleep in and rest... so they miss corporate worship, which is one of the best places to find our spiritual rest as we unload ourselves of our own junk and give ourselves to God in worship, which is were we find rest as we enter into the presence of God. 
Psalm 91 says:
"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord“He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”


If you want to find rest... real rest, it comes by entering into and staying in the presence of God.

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