Doesn’t “getting rest” sound appealing? Not rest in the sense you need to recharge before taking on some other task. Rather, it’s just getting rest because you are supposed to get rest.
I ran across this on someone else’s Instagram page:
I had to check out The Nap Ministry, and I found that they aren’t a Christian site, so I want to be wary about the term “ministry.” Still, the sentiment expressed here fits in well with the ancient mandate of Sabbath. That’s not something we do well in 2021, at least here in the West, or the United States.
We equate busyness with godliness. Where’d that come from?
Face it: You are probably carrying a much greater load than you should be. We all do. We have obligations, responsibilities, and simple work that we think we have to fulfill.
I’d suggest that if we don’t have ways to lighten that load, we’re gonna ultimately be crushed, of no use to ourselves or anyone else.
There’s a component of guilt involved in this situation, too. We feel we’re totally and uniquely responsible for doing our duty. Well, we are obligated to our duties. Problem is, we struggle to distinguish what our own duties are, and invariably we load more stuff on ourselves. Then we hold out our martyr cards for someone else to punch, and we get a sick satisfaction out of knowing we’ve worked and served really hard.
“Getting rest,” then, seems to be the same as being lazy.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
You’re probably already ahead of me on this, but ancient script says this in Matthew 11:28-30:
28 “Come to me,all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
From time to time, I’m asked if I have a “life verse.” I really don’t – it just depends on what season of life I’m in at any given time, and often I’ll find a passage that speaks to me. This one is especially resonant these days.
Know why? I’m tired.
I’m tired of meanness. I’m tired of people shaming each other because they don’t see things the same way (in politics, in pandemics, in a whole host of other areas.) I’m tired of people going for the “gotcha” on social media. I don’t want to assume motives on the part of others, but it seems that some are trying to persuade their peers to come around to their way of thinking.
Let me say that implying the other person is an idiot is not a good way to win fans. And while I love a funny meme as much as the next person, it doesn’t hurt to do a motive check before posting. Are you trying to be helpful, encouraging, or just plain funny – or are you getting some sort of validation by displaying your superior, smug attitude because you know better than everyone else?
I know I’m coming across as sanctimonious. Moving on … we were talking about getting rest, right?
Backing up to my scripture reference … there are plenty of reasons to turn to Jesus in these days (and, of course, there are always plenty of reasons to do so!) Sometimes we need healing, other times purpose, and always we need encouragement. Maybe we don’t come to Jesus because of stress and the need for rest like we should.
I’m talking about the kind of stress that comes from a tired mind and weary soul. Lets’s collectively ‘fess up – at some point, we’re all gonna deal with either tension, worry, fear, anxiety, depression, or a combination of all these. That’s why that photo I posted above might be helpful.
But, that’s just a short-term fix. Because at some point, you have to get up from that nap and re-enter the external world.
You’re gonna be impressed with my grasp of the obvious here, but the only thing that will help is God Himself. Just spending time with Him alone.
I think so many of our problems in life grow from our inability to simply be still.
It’s matter of sitting down with God, asking “Is there anything you need to tell me?” And then just shutting the heck up and listening.
Another issue? It might be that you are trying to control too much.
You think everything relies on you, and you’re responsible for making it all right.
This is a tough one for me. I have never perceived myself as being a control freak – a tendency I see in others that drives me nuts – but I do see that there are plenty of times when I want others to be getting rest while I sacrifice my own need for rest for them.
Well, Tony, you are not the Assistant to the Holy Spirit. I can resign and the world won’t fall apart.
Since most of us don’t live in an agrarian society any more, the concept of being yoked doesn’t mean a lot. The illustration Jesus is going for here is the picture of two farm animals, oxen, specifically, being bound together with their necks in a piece of wood called a yoke. That yoke halves the load for those animals. It’s a partnership.
We were never designed to carry all the stress in our lives by ourselves. I mean – duh – Jesus is saying He’ll carry part of the load for us. It’s how we’re hardwired as believers – we’re supposed to depend on Him.
One part of this yoke analogy we don’t think about is that the yoke is also a symbol of control. Oxen are yoked together because the farmer wants them to move in the same direction.
My admittedly obvious observation is that we can get in serious trouble when we don’t go in the same direction as Jesus. We experience stress and grief when we try to do things our own way.
I mean – we’re always gonna be yoked to something – other’s expectations, our perceived necessity to the world, or even our own selfish wants.
If I’m gonna be yoked to something, then, I want it to be the easiest yoke I can choose. Getting rest is the result.
Jesus wants us to learn humility and gentleness from Him. That’s the opposite of arrogance and aggression. That’s one reason that, as of late, I’ve tried not to post anything on social media that isn’t positive, uplifting, or funny – and that means not trying to be funny at the expense of someone else. (And, as I’ve often noted, humor is in the eye of the beholder, and my sense of funny and yours might not match up. But I mean no harm!)
Ultimately, you are not in control of everything in your life. You might jump way out ahead of what God is teaching you, and the consequences of your words and actions can come back and bite you in the nether regions.
The antidote, then, is to trust Him. If getting rest is what you need, here’s a promise you want to claim.
Talk later!