“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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-29

True Rest

After a crazy day at work, when I am truly exhausted mentally, I love coming home to my comfortable place to sit and rest. After a great hike in the mountains where it is breathtakingly beautiful, my body is physically exhausted and I look forward to getting back home to my place of comfort and rest. This place the Lord has given to us, that we call home, is a huge blessing, but I may still have turmoil and inner tension. I love to relax with a good book, or a funny movie, but I may still lack inner peace.

When I open my Bible and talk to the Lord, His peace floods my soul and only in that place is there true rest. He takes my destructive adverse thoughts of someone’s opinion I’ve hung onto, and turns me upright, leading me to the perfect scripture to remind me of His constant hand on my life. His ways are perfect, and I only have to trust Him, falling on His grace and breath. This is the happy place of pure joy, knowing how much the creator of the universe loves His children, how much He loves me and truly is my personal Savior, Lord, and friend.

This rest in Strong’s concordance means: repose, unaffected, exempt, or refresh. Exempt is an interesting word. I take it to mean not affected. True rest is a place of refuge and safety. My prayer is to live in this place throughout the day. “Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; You have given the command to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress” (Psalm 71:3).

In the place He gives us to live, we can practice true rest. “…for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28a).  I know this is possible because of this promise in Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” I know we can live in the place of refuge and peace, but it involves disciplining our minds to stay on Him and continue to trust. This is the place of deep joy, regardless of the circumstances.

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

“He shall enter into peace; they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in His uprightness” (Isaiah 57:2).

 “Thank You, Lord, that we can find perfect rest in You. Your yoke is easy and burden light. Help us to stay in this place today. In Jesus’ glorious name. Amen.”