Finding True Rest

Life has been moving at a frenetic pace lately. The calendar overwhelmingly full, commitments and tasks mounting. With Spring break now over, Easter festivities, traveling, and family celebrations completed, I crave nothing more than to hide away for a while – alone and in silence. I am feeling the call to rest. To be still. To experience Selah – a pause, a suspension – and to allow God to carry me for a while. But how do you do that when retreat is not an option? How can you find rest in the midst of responsibility? The answer can only be found in the Author of rest.

#1 – “Come to Me…”

Jesus said, “Come to Me…and I will give you rest”. That word rest is the Hebrew word anapauo meaning to repose, to refresh. When I am in the midst of doing, when I am going about my work, when I am growing weary in doing the good things I’ve been called to do, when I feel like I have heavy loads to bear, He says “Come to Me,”.

“Coming” is a voluntary action. It’s both an act of trust and one of surrender. And in our coming we acknowledge our lack and His all-sufficiency.

“Come to Me and I will give you the fresh mental or physical strength or energy you need for today.” 

#2 – “Take my yoke…”

So many times when God calls us to something, we can say “Yes” in the moment. But how do we keep saying “Yes”? When the going gets tough? When our strength seems like it’s fading and our endurance is in short supply? Jesus said to take up His yoke, meaning he never intended for us to walk alone in the “Yes”. When He calls and we accept, He has already taken on the yoke – we are merely invited to join Him. But He will never force us – we have to willingly take up the yoke. And He promises to go with us every step of the way and carry the load, and sometimes even us, right alongside Him.

#3 – “Learn of me…”

There is always a dominant animal in any yoke. One that takes the leads and heads the “partnership” and provides direction to the other. In training a new ox, it is not unusual to put an untrained animal in the yoke with an older and more experienced one. The mature ox is then able to model by example and calm and steady the young one as it learns the commands of the master and to walk in harness.

If we take the Master’s yoke, we submit to His authority and His guidance. Just as Jesus was obedient to His Father and did nothing in His own strength, we are to follow His example. He knew the value of rest and He modeled it for us. Jesus relied on the Holy Spirit and communed with His Father daily. That is where He drew His strength from.

Matthew 11:29 ends with Jesus saying that if we do these things – if we come to Him, if we take up His yoke, if we learn from Him – we will find rest for our souls. The word rest here (anapousis) means intermission, recreation. Pause. A cessation. Selah. Our minds at rest from anxious thoughts. Our hearts refreshed for the journey. Knowing that we are held. Knowing that in our “Yes”, He bears the weight with us. And so when He calls us to come a little deeper, even if we feel we’re already drowning, we can say “Yes” again. And we find our footing in Him and His Presence and His Peace surrounds us there.

Rest. My responsibilities remain. My calendar, though not as full as it has been, still has plenty of entries. The piles of things screaming for attention in my home are still present and awaiting their turn. I still need to minister to my family and care for their needs. To rest doesn’t’ mean that I abandon those things, pull the covers over my head and retreat, or simply sit on the couch binging my favourite shows and eating junk food. And while there certainly are times for those things, all too often I think we miss true rest that is life-giving in our pursuit of a cheap imitation.

Instead, this kind of rest means that in the middle of the doing, I lean hard into the Author of Rest and draw strength from Him.

I surrender my will, my agenda, my fears, my lack, my failures, and allow Him to fill the gaps. I take His yoke and follow His example. And in that place of obedient surrender, He gives me exactly what I need for today.

Maybe you need rest this week. Maybe the burdens you carry are heavy and the responsibilities seem cumbersome and never-ending. Maybe you feel that you can’t keep going. “Come to Me…” Jesus is calling. He wants to lift your head and to shoulder your burden. He wants to give you rest. Will you come? This week, I pray you experience His Presence and His Peace as you learn to rest in Him.

Until next time…