Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

DEVOTION

 Do you ever feel like you need more time in the day? All of us hurry too frequently. This rush causes us to not be present in our lives and our relationships with God and others suffer.

Dallas Willard once said, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” Busyness and hurry are quiet cancers that will wreak havoc on our spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. We are not machines. If we do not slow down, we will eventually burn out and something or some things in our lives will be severely damaged. 

Uplifting, right? I say this because we must honestly evaluate our lives and diagnose what is the source of some of our exhaustion, frustrations, and sin. The enemy wants us to hurry. He knows that when we are too busy, our connection with God is limited. When our connection to God is limited, we will suffer, struggle, and head towards sin.

Here is the cure: rest. Rest physically, yes; take a nap, please. But I am talking about deep soul rest only found in Christ. In Matthew 11, Jesus gives us an invitation to rest from all our religious activities and busyness that simply make us too tired to give Christ our heart, mind, body, and soul. I am not saying that going to church, serving, and being part of Bible studies are wrong. However, if we are not adopting the lifestyle of Jesus and walking as he walked, then those activities will be done in our own strength and in our own way and eventually will lead us to burn out, frustration, and wanting to throw in the towel. Jesus himself would retreat and rest in the Father often.

We have been told to “practice the spiritual disciplines.” To me, that sounds like more “work” and busyness. Dr. Cliff Sanders, Director of the School of Wesleyan Studies at Crossings, changed that for me—he calls them “the means of grace.” These practices place us under God’s hand and allow us to experience his grace. 

So, what is the next right thing? Rest. Make time this week to sabbath. Mark 2:27: “And he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’ It was made for us because God knew our intentional and personal connection to him was vital. Carve out time to rest with him. Put the phone down. Go for a walk. Turn off the radio in the car. Pray. Read. Rest— please rest and find rest for your souls.

PRAYER

“God, I am tired. In every way, I am tired. Jesus, you are my rest. You make me lay down in green pastures and place me beside still waters. Help me eliminate what is making me “too busy” for time with you. Give me rest for my soul, please. Help me delight in the means of grace so I may do your will and your work.”

Jason White 

Worship Pastor

jwhite@crossings.church

 Jason White is a Worship Pastor at Crossings Community Church. He is passionate about helping people live authentic lives of faith and reminding them that all are welcome at Jesus’ table. 

RESOURCES

• The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
• "God's Rest is the Best Rest" sermon 
• Your Great Love