Matthew 11:28–30
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Paraphrase of Matthew 11v28-30:
“Are you exhausted all the time? Waking up to your alarm clock, day after day? Always in a hurry, late for the next thing, impatient with life? Do you feel haggard? Rarely your best self? Drowning under the tide of options and opportunities? Constantly trying to catch up to the ideal life that is always just out of reach? Come to me. Slow your whole life down. Let me show you how to shoulder the weight of life with ease, even joy. Other people offer escape aplenty; I offer something more; real, true rest. Soul-level rest. Copy the details of my life, pattern the rhythm of your life after mine, and slowly but surely, I will teach you how to live with more ease and gratitude and joy than you ever thought possible.” – (From Sabbath Meditations)
Dwell:
One of the most profound aspects of this passage is that Jesus' most natural impulse is to move towards us in our burdens. Why would Jesus do this? Because He is "gentle and lowly in heart." Jesus' very disposition is to extend mercy and grace to us.
Most of us have parts of our hearts that no one sees or gets close to. We probably share 70% of our heart with other people, another 15% with our close friends, another 10% with our spouses or closest relationships, and then there is 5% that no one touches or gets close to. That 5% can become so heavy that it will crush you. It only takes a spark to burn down the whole house.
Jesus is mighty and strong. The 5% of darkness we are afraid to speak of—Jesus wants us to bring that 5% to Him. He can handle it, and not only can He handle it, but He delights in taking our burden and giving us rest.
Thought:
“Our tendency is to feel intuitively that the more difficult life gets, the more alone we are. As we sink further into pain, we sink further into felt isolation. The Bible corrects us. Our pain never outstrips what he himself shares in. We are never alone. That sorrow that feels so isolating, so unique, was endured by him in the past and is now shouldered by him in the present.” ― Dane C. Ortlund
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for Your heart towards me. Thank You for receiving me with open arms and not a pointed finger. Lord, I want to live in the light and give You every single burden in my life that could possibly distract me from giving You glory. Life can seem so heavy at times, but I’m grateful that Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light.
In Jesus' name, Amen.