“Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Interesting that Jesus did not just say, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” By saying “Come to me all who are weary…” he spoke to those who understood true weariness, those aware of their weaknesses and needs. Think of those who came to Jesus for healing. They came because they were desperate. They came because they had exhausted their own resources. They were weary.
Those who feel strong and self-assured did not come to Jesus. They solved their own problems, so they thought, and in doing so, missed out on true rest.
Jesus knew the secret: we are all the weary. Do not take inventory of your life and conclude that you’re “makin’ do” right now. Humans are not superheroes. We are, by nature, limited – in strength, in knowledge, in talent, in time. Even moms – contrary to the “I’ve accomplished so much this morning” Facebook posts – have limits.
Those unaware of their own proclivity toward weariness soon find themselves surprised by a breakdown. Rest is our essential for our bodies, but the physical is just a mirror of the emotional, mental, and spiritual. Jesus knew that the issues of weariness and rest reached far beyond our physical bodies. Have you ever woken up after a good night’s sleep and still felt tired? Oftentimes, despite eight hours of sleep, we wake with yesterday’s stress cloaking our hearts like the dew on the grass. Weariness is not eliminated simply by shutting our eyes and going to sleep for a while.
Thus, we have a problem. When we’re hungry we go to the grocery store. When our bodies are sick we go to the doctor. But we can’t buy rest. We can’t create it, either. Rest is a gift. It’s something we receive. In order to receive, we have to be willing to hold out our hands. In other words, we have to recognize our weariness. Rest is not an achievement.
To sum up:
- We are all weary.
- We cannot buy rest.
- Rest is a heavenly gift, a blessing for those who come (see previous post).
- Rest is for those who know they are weary.
Are you aware of your own weariness?