Come unto Me, and I will give you rest

The world does not value rest like the Bible does.

There are so many verses that talk about rest and letting God into your life.

Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Come to me, all 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."

Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

In today's society, it is go go go. Constantly. No rest for the weary couldn't ring more true.

The world loves this. In fact, they encourage it. If you're not always "in the grind" then something is wrong with you. Oh, you don't work five jobs and take on multiple activities every day of the week? What's your problem?

The world loves to see a distracted Christian. One who is so consumed with everything going on that they shut God completely out of their lives and don't make any time for Him. He is not their first priority or their last, but not even one at all.

I can personally relate to this struggle.

I used to have a problem of always saying yes when an opportunity presented itself. There have been times where I rushed into things without even weighing the costs because I was just so excited to add one more skill or accomplishment to my belt. This can be directly attributed to pride and FOMO (fear of missing out), and wanting to pack my resumé for the sake of packing my resumé.

But then I reached a breaking point.

I was burnt out and unmotivated. Even to read my Bible. That was a huge issue.

Thankfully, after this pivotal moment I learned how to say no and to really look for the reasons why I was committing to all these former things. I was able to recenter with the help of Jesus and now I try to strive for intentionality in everything I do. 

And most importantly, I found rest. I found rest for my soul in Jesus. Not laziness, but taking a break in spiritual rest. 

Going on walks and enjoying the beauty of His creation. Sitting down and just being present, reflecting on all His blessings. Having more quality relationships with my friends and family because my Google calendar has a lot more empty holes. 

And that brings a smile to my face.