“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.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Back in 1961 there was a West-End musical,“Stop the World, I want to get off!”
I sometimes suspect that’s the cry of many in our world today – as things become too fast, too heavy, too tiring.Stress, burdens, fatigue, anxiety - these are just some words that are being heard more and more in our 21st Century. It seems we live in a tired world. A world that is taking strain on various fronts.
Technology has provided us with higher levels of ease and efficiency but yet people are feeling more drained than ever before; unable to switch off.
Social media like Facebook/Twitter, etc has now made it possible to stay connected with friends and family across the world, 24/7, yet we have unprecedented numbers of folk being isolated and disassociated. Facebook account holders have hundreds, even thousands of "friends" and "followers", but still people are walking around lonely.
Our young people, who are supposed to be enjoying their youth, are not exempt from these burdens. According to Beyond Blue, suicide is the biggest killer of young Australians.
Society has become burdened, tired, run-down.
Whoever we are this morning, wherever we find ourselves along this journey of life, the truth is that life gets tough at times, we grow weary, we get tired. The yoke of life gets pretty heavy.That’s the reality.
But here’s the good news:
As heavy and as tiring as life can become – you do not have to handle life alone.
We have a divine invitation being extended to each one of us, yet again, by none other than our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” - Jesus
Come to who? Come to ME. What a personal invitation; not to a select few; not to only those who can afford it, but to all those who are weary and burdened. We are not invited to a religious organization or system; we are being invited to the person of Jesus Christ.
With that invitation is a promise of rest: "and I will give you rest”. This should have been music to the ears of the soul-weary folk of Jesus’ day;
- It should be music to our ears this morning, as well.
When he offers us rest for our souls, this is not just a nice peaceful spiritual retreat, but a life of rest in Jesus.
Rest from a guilty conscience – as we confess our sins to Him, and He forgive us.
Rest from the worries and anxieties of life – as we come to him casting our cares upon him. (Read 1 Peter 5:7)
Then, of course, there's the promise of eternal rest as we one-day come to the end of our journey and are safe in his arms forever.
Friend, where are you today? Are you feeling badgered, battered and bruised by the world. Are you feeling weighed down by the cares of this life? Will you hear the voice of our humble, gentle Saviour inviting you to himself – offering you rest for your soul.
The rest being spoken of here does not mean inactivity or doing nothing. It certainly does not mean absence of challenges or problems in life. What Jesus is reminding you of here is that you don’t have to handle those things alone; you don’t have to face the tough stuff by yourself.
God bless
PRAYER
Thank you, Precious Jesus, for your invitation to rest
From the cares, concern, wranglings and worry
Help me to cast every angst upon you
For the times I have not, I am truly sorry.
Amen