Rest....from fruitless labour

Matthew 11:28-30 KJV:
Come unto me, all ye that labour 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.

It is a world of stress and high tension. We rush to sleep at night, setting alarm clocks and priorities for the next day, unsure of what the day holds and even more unsure of what our purpose and pursuits should be. We rush through the day, meeting and keeping appointments and deadlines, with hardly a thought of what our life should be like. We then rush home at night, seeking a balance to our lives by ensuring we are available to our family members. It has become a juggling art: balancing work, family, life and fun. We mostly tilt towards work, while our families suffer in the process, only to discover later than our pursuits were the wrong priorities.

We labour so much while our lives show a disproportionate return on our labour. We run after a lot of things and at the end of our pursuits, we hold less than what we started the journey with. There has to be a purpose to every pursuit and a reason for every race. There must be a God-inspired pattern for every priority that we set before us and it is only as we run, walk and work with God that we can find the rest that we desire.

There's an invitation to only those who have realised the folly of labour without God. There's stress and trouble for any man seeking to find peace outside the true source of that peace. For any man seeking true rest, Christ simply says: 'Come unto me'. That is all you need to do. When you come, there's an exchange of burden, a transfer of spirits and a help that is divine and eternal. When you come with your burden, God just does not take the burden and send you out into a responsibility-free life; he takes your own burden and gives you his own burden: a gift, a talent or a responsibility you have been specially endowed to perform. He just doesn't give you this, he empowers you daily so you can fulfil these responsibilities. He gives you his own yoke and because it is his, he's carrying it with you. You are not left alone at any time to bear these things by yourself. He's the example that bears following and his life is a living testimony that with God, you are never without help.

His help is available through his Spirit and he gives you just what you need to fulfil his own purpose for your life. He isn't going to leave you alone to navigate this wild world alone without help. His presence will help sustain you whatever the yoke you may have been given to carry. His presence has been promised and by the nature of God, every promise of God will be fulfilled. His time of favour is here.