Day 59: Jesus, You Give Rest For My Soul

Could your soul use a good vacation? Jesus invites us to a vacation for the soul when He says, “Come to Me, all you 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” (Matthew 11:28-30). Why do we need this kind of rest? Because every day we are bombarded with a thousand small and large challenges requiring decisions, action, and yes, sometimes even a momentary flash of brilliance. How can we manage such life? Should we just get smarter and faster to handle everything? Jesus gives us the opposite encouragement when He says, “Abide in Me” (John 15:1-11) and “Come to Me” and “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me” (Matthew 11:28-30). Granted, these exhortations do require a certain action on our part. But they are actions to give it all over to Jesus—to hand the reigns of our life, our daily activities, over to Him and learn how He does it. In fact, ultimately we learn to let Him do it all in and through us. And what do we get in return? Rest for our souls. And the indescribable enjoyment of Jesus.

Andrew Murray, in his book, Abide In Christ, describes Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 as an invitation to become His students, yield ourselves to His training, submit in all things to His will, and let our whole life be one with His. He goes on to say that rest for the soul is “deliverance from every fear, the supply of every need, and the fulfillment of every desire…the rest is in Christ, and it is not something He gives apart from Himself, and so it is only in having Him that the rest can really be kept and enjoyed…the yoke gives the rest, because the moment the soul yields itself to obey, the Lord Himself gives the strength and the joy to do it…The soul needs only to yield itself to Him, to be still and rest in the confidence that His love has undertaken, and that His faithfulness will perform, the work of keeping it safe in the shelter of His bosom.” Finally, (and this is my favorite part), Andrew Murray says that rest for the soul is “the peace of God, the great calm of the eternal world, that passes all understanding and that keeps the heart and mind. With this grace secured, we have strength for every duty, courage for every struggle, a blessing in every cross, and the joy of life eternal in death itself.”

I especially love reading Jesus’ invitation in the Message: “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” (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG). Who could ever turn down such an amazing invitation!

As I think about abiding in Christ today, I want to keep in the forefront of my mind, that taking time and energy to abide in Him, to come to Him, to keep my eyes fixed on Him, gains me everything I want and need—heart renewal and revival, an unlimited supply of strength and power, and ultimately, Christ Himself!

My Response: Lord Jesus, I come to You today for everything and I’m reminded that apart from You I can do nothing. Fill me with Your Spirit today and give me what I really need—rest for my soul. In Jesus’ name, Amen.