You jump off the bed before any cock crows.
Where is my Bible? Your eyes pick one sentence and sleep steals five minutes away. Twenty minutes of battling with sleep, you fly in your feet. The devil can’t slow down your life.
You eat up the devotional and knock Heaven’s door with your requests.
Dizziness as a result of recurring three hours per day sleep sings in your ears. No time for extravagant rest, please … You have a lot on your table.
Office work to handle; this conference to attend; a family to cater for; a speaking engagement to attend; a social media seminar to teach; a prayer meeting to attend; a choir rehearsal to attend; a business project you’re working on
The list fills a massive notebook … Goals to achieve, with mean deadlines.
“I must make an impact. I must be relevant. I must work tirelessly to get that…”
You know you need rest. Your spiritual life cries for help. Your body begs you to please “take a break”. You’re losing the needful relationship with family and friends in the ocean of activities.
But how can I find rest? You ask. How do I marry rest and be relevant in life?
I know the whole feeling, friend. Let me confess, that picture in the preceding sentences describes my life at different times.
“God, please show me the way out. What do I do?”
He showed me … No, He keeps showing me.
Let me share with you the answer He’s been whispering to me.
Three things to always do to find rest amid life’s ups and downs:
They’re found in this text I guess you’ve read over and over.
Matthew 11: 28-30
“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.”
COME UNTO ME:
Do we do that? Our default nature when work blankets our table is to rush out of God’s presence and into our “to-do” list. “There’s no time,” we say.
When we get confused, we rush to a friend or coach or counsellor to get advice. This is as if God can’t direct us anymore.
When a problem hits us hard, we rush to tears, or to things like TV or food or whatever – let me just forget about everything. We think God can’t understand or help out. Or worse still, we even forget about Him… that He’s always there to help and hold us.
In which category do you find yourself, friend?
If you want to find rest, Jesus says, come unto me. Come! Spend time in my presence. Bring those matters to me.
Have you forgotten His word?
“I am the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for me.” (Jeremiah 32:27)
“I will help you, yeah I will uphold you with my right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.” (Psalm 37:23)
Always remember to come to Jesus with every problem, challenge or workload – especially, first thing every day.
Martin Luther said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer”.
TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU:
Yoke? I have a pile of them already and you’re talking about taking another yoke?
Hold on, friend. You’ve been carrying a self-imposed yoke. Who gave them to you; when Jesus said cast all your cares upon me.
A lot of the things we do and carry are loads we placed on ourselves. We’re worried about things that we can’t influence by our power. We’re busy, doing things outside God’s will for our lives because we don’t consult Him.
Unproductive activities.
That’s the result of our self-imposed “busyness”.
Think about it…
You’ve allowed your mother’s children to occupy you with the tending of their vineyards, but you’ve not attended to your own. (Songs of Solomon 1:6).
This is because you’ve not even discovered “your vineyard”.
It’s time to lay those burdens and carry that of Christ first.
And what does it mean? Which yoke did Christ carry?
Nothing but the Father’s will. “Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” (Hebrews 10:7)
You wake up each day and say, “Lord, order my steps to do your will today”. And you’ll see that as you plan and execute that “to-do list”, God will lead you on what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.
Life will be easier and fruitful.
Remember! He’s omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent.
LEARN OF ME:
What does He want us to learn? – “I am meek and lowly in heart”. You want to make an impact, influence lives, and leave a footprint … Learn from Jesus. The way up is down.
He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Philippians 2:5-9 gives a perfect picture:
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
On these three principles, dear friend, you will always find rest, and still live life to the fullest, making impact and influence in your world.
Go and do likewise. We’re taking this journey together.
Don’t keep this message to yourself – share!
