Created to Rest

2021 has been a year of disappointment and loss for many.  We started the year optimistic about “returning to normal” and were sorely frustrated to be back in lockdowns.  

We lost momentum, opportunities, community, and even loved ones.

There has been so much negativity – bad news, anxious thoughts, dark feelings, challenging exchanges, and overall tension in society in 2021.

How do we persevere through such a year?  How do we keep our motivation day after day?

The Bible suggests, we can’t.  We don’t.

The Bible says, we should stop and take time to be renewed.  We are not meant to push through towards burnout.  

We were created to rest.

Not only on Sabbath once a week, but consistently and regularly in Christ – from anxiety, loneliness, guilt, pressures to succeed or feelings of failure.

Jesus invites us,

“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)

In Jesus, there is an exchange that happens.

We give Him whatever burdens we carry – and we take up His yoke.  We give Him our agenda and take on His priorities. 

What is His yoke? 

A yoke is a wooden crosspiece that joins two animals together to pull together in the same direction on the fields.

He is inviting us into partnership in His work.  To follow His leading.  To go at His pace.  

We live in such a flurry – of deadlines, appointments, activities, etc.  When’s the last time you truly rested? 

Jesus was certainly busy and spent long hours and days ministering to people.  But He also regularly took time to rest through prayer and community with His closest disciples.

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. Mark 6:30-32

Jesus sometimes walked for days just to reach one person.  He sometimes spent all night in prayer.  He slept in boats and left towns just as He was gathering a crowd.

He didn’t let others dictate His pace or schedule.  He didn’t feel the need to prove Himself.  He was at peace with who He was and His mission.  

And He invites us into that rest, into that peace and security.

So if you’re feeling weary and unmotivated, it’s time to carve out time – turn off the devices, find a quiet place, and let God minister to your heart:

Psalm 25:

In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.

2 I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.

3 No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.

4 Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.

5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.

7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, Lord, are good.

Let’s give Jesus our broken dreams, frustrations and pain – and take His hope, mercy and love as our guide into the new year.