Are You Worn Out?

The past 2 weeks of practicing intentional silence and bringing Jesus into all of my thoughts (first thing when I wake up, turning off instagram, turning off music while driving) has been so powerful. I’ve often practiced silence and been frustrated by the barrage of random thoughts that’ve rushed into my head. The problem was that I was always trying to stop them from coming in, instead of letting them through and bringing Jesus into each thought. These practices have been reshaping my heart, even in the midst of my craziness.

Most of us, if we’re honest, have a hard time hearing the voice and heart of God in our daily lives, and that’s why we’ve been doing this series!

Ok, get ready. There’s a difference between an invitation and a To-Do list. An invitation is a welcomed offer, and a To-Do list is a pass or fail expectation. What sticks out to you, and what are Jesus’ invitations in this passage:

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.” ...JESUS. Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

Jesus’ invitations have action attached to them, but they are for our good. Like “Come to me/ learn from me” could be heard as “get over here or else,” or they could be heard as a welcomed offer into rest, learning, and freedom.

In verse 29 the phrase, “and you will FIND rest for your souls” is so profound. It means that rest is to be sought after, found, looked for. To find, is to actively pursue something, and in this case, the rest that we so desperately want and need is found solely in Jesus.

The other thing I love about this verse is the idea of being yoked to Jesus. We will hit this concept harder later, but like an oxen is led and directed by their master, so are we invited into this kind of relationship. But unlike the oxen walking around with a heavy load, Jesus is saying that when we walk with Him, learn from Him, and follow His lead, that He will take care of the load and we simply are invited to trust.

And I absolutely love this same verse in The Message version:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”...JESUS.   Matthew 11:28-30 (MSG)

PRACTICE

Stay yoked (attached) to Jesus all day long.

• Let Him carry your load/burdens

• Trust that He is leading you

• Walk expecting Him to teach you things today

And you will FIND rest for your soul!!!

Text “10k” to “55678” if you want weekly text reminders to your phone. We’ll be sending out a few encouragements a week to help you practice Jesus all week long!