The Key to Finding Rest When You Are Weary
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
When I was in high school, I was on the dance team all four years, and I loved everything about it. Except for one thing: kick routines. Oh, how I loathed them. Something about kicking over and over again for hours can knock every ounce of energy out of you. By the end of a practice, I’d collapse on the floor in utter exhaustion.
And I feel like I’ve been kicking ever since. Because I don’t know about you, but as I get older, I seem only to get more exhausted. Parenting, work, bills, relationships, and all of the above only add more to the plate.
So, when I came across this passage a few weeks ago, I stopped and settled there for a while. I was craving this rest Jesus was talking about, and in that time of meditation, I saw something I had never seen before. A key to rest.
COME TO ME
Jesus is inviting the broken, at the end of your rope, and utterly exhausted into the rest he offers. It’s a beautiful call to relationship. And while—both in the time he spoke these words and today—we are constantly being bombarded with to-do lists and commands. So, while you might feel like everyone wants a piece of you, Jesus invites you into a relationship where he gives you everything you need.
THE KEY TO HUMILITY
Surrender
For a long time, I read the words “take up my yoke,” and I thought two things: what does that mean exactly, and that’s just one more thing I have to carry.
But when you study this phrase, it means to be subject to. 1 Timothy 6:1 says, “Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants.”
To take the yoke is to surrender to Christ. Really, it’s an exchange. You take on his yoke and then surrender your burdens at his feet. By taking on His yoke, you release the burden.
Humility
The second key to rest is humility. Look at what Jesus says; he says to learn from him in that he is lowly and humble in heart.
God hates pride; He talks about it often (Proverbs 8:13, Proverbs 16:5, Proverbs 26:12). He hates the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Additionally, Jesus modeled surrender and humility every day on this earth. He never moved or acted outside of the will fo the Father, and that’s the same attitude we must carry with us every day. Submission and humility before the Father.
Jesus continues—if we will take on his yoke and learn from him, AND (or as some transitions say, “THEN”) you will find rest. Both are necessary for the person seeking rest from Jesus.
GOD’S WORD
Jesus ends this passage by reiterating the importance of his “yoke.” However, the yoke Jesus is talking about here is his teaching. It will hold you together.
When you stay in God’s Word, it will aid you in laying down yourself. Like John said, I must decrease so he can increase.
He continues and says that his teaching is “easy” or well-fitting. It’s just what you need. Warren Wiersbe wrote, “He has just the yoke that is tailor-made for our lives and needs.”
God has in His Word what you need! And it’s endless...it will never run out. Think about that. Jesus has custom made an ease just for you. Tailor-made for your weariness and exhaustion. It’s easy, and it’s gracious. God’s Word fits you!
If you are weary and burdened today, submit yourself to the Lord and lay your baggage at his feet. Then, take on the posture of humility in how you approach God and others. If you begin to buckle under the pressure, go to His Word, where He has the exact thing you need for this season.