DEVOTIONAL: Come to Me -- and rest — Nicole O'Meara

Are you weary? Worn out? Overwhelmed?

I sure am! I worry about my children—should I call the school for more academic support? I worry about my parents—should I help Mom more? I worry about my health—am I being careful enough? Should I teach Sunday School again? Should I give extra to this ministry or that?

My heart needs rest!

We need the kind of rest that renews and restores. Rest when our feet ache at the end of a long day, and rest when our heart breaks for a dear friend. Rest when we need grace for ourselves, and rest when someone needs grace from us. We need rest that heals.

Good news! This is the rest Jesus offers when He said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

When Jesus offered this promise, the Jews were living under the leadership of the Pharisees who had heavily burdened them with hundreds of extra requirements—rules no human could fulfill perfectly. He knows we are prone to the same self-imposed burdens today, trying to live well enough for Heaven in our own strength… and failing. He knows we need rest, and so He invites us to come to Him and receive it.

God knows what it’s like to be human. Jesus experienced all the heavy burdens you and I experience in our human bodies: hunger, sorrow, temptation, and more. He understands. That’s what makes His offer of rest so comforting.

But we must first come to Him to receive it. That one little word, “Come,” is in every English translation of this verse. Let’s not miss it.

It’s not complicated. Coming to Jesus can be as simple as whispering, “Lord, help!” The gift of rest comes when we reach out in our weakness and accept help from the One who is able to bear every burden. He took our burdens all the way to the cross—there is nothing He cannot bear!

Take Jesus at His word today: “COME and I will give you rest.”

This devotion was originally published at Joyful Life Magazine. Sign up to receive their Daily Devotions in your inbox.

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