By Naomi Mitchell
For Carter County Times
In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Jesus’ great desire is that we find the rest we so desperately need, which is a rest that only He can give. And so, he calls us to come to him, a command loaded with burden-lifting grace and mercy. He offers an invitation to the weary and burdened. Those willing to come to Him have this promise: “I will give you rest.” Jesus is eager to reveal the Father to those who are willing.
That’s what we deeply long for; rest for our souls. For the hardest burdens to bear are our soul burdens. And so often what burdens our souls are the effects of false beliefs — half-truths we believe about God, ourselves, others, the world, the future, and life that weigh down our hearts with sorrow, fear, anxiety, discouragement, or despair.
The degree to which something we believe drains us of hope is the degree to which that belief burdens our souls. For our souls only find peace and rest in hope. This is why we find Scripture recording God’s people saying things like these. O my soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation (hope) is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense; I shall not be moved (shaken) (Psalm 62:5–6). May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope (Romans 15:13).
Hope is what we’re frantically looking for whenever our souls are heavily laden. But hope is only as good as what it rests on is true. A false hope will eventually become its own unbearable soul-burden.
Jesus calls us to come to him, a command loaded with burden-lifting grace and mercy. And that is why Jesus cried out, “Come to me!” The God of hope himself, the God of compassion, the God who wishes to bear our sin, to daily bear us up (Psalm 68:19), to shepherd us through places of refreshment and danger (Psalm 23), to give us all we need, and to rescue us from every evil deed and bring us safely into his heavenly kingdom (2 Timothy 4:18), this God invites us to come to him and receive from him rest for our souls.
Only Jesus can provide that rest. AMEN. SO BE IT. JOYFUL House of Prayer, 2519 Quicksand Road, (P.O. Box 856), Jackson, Kentucky 41339. Send Comments/Prayer Requests: Pastornaomi4god@gmail.com. FB: JoyfulHoprayer. Services: 10am Sunday and 6:30pm Thursdays. Radio Broadcast: WJSN 97.3 FM & WEKG 81.0 AM Sundays 1-2pm.
