Matthew 11:28 (AMP)
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
So this word has been on my mind quite a bit lately. Maybe because I was headed for vacation and there were so many people who kept telling me, “Wow! That sounds great, make sure you get some rest.” You see I’m at the beach with my family for our annual Family Reunion. It is an event that my Grandfather and Grandmother Watts started about 22 years ago. They believed and instilled in each of us that “families are forever” and thus our reunions. They worked it out so that our rooms, or houses, or accommodations were taken care of for a week. What we had to arrange was getting to wherever we were meeting, our food, and then any activities we wanted to do while we were there. The greatest part of the week, at least for me, was that we were together. Wherever we were, whether it was at Lake Keuka in New York, or at the Beach in North Carolina we were together. We had a worship service one night, we had a carry in dinner with a talent show, that usually included the Watts Band (which Grandmother just gleamed and always wanted just one more song and had to include “When the Saints God Marching In”), and everyday there was a gathering at the water of all the family catching up on what was going on in our lives. There was a sharing of needs, joyous moments, and just shooting the breeze. A tremendous time of being together as Family. Oh, by the way each year there would be about 100-125 of us, sometimes the number was a little higher, but not many years did it go under 100 there may have been a few.
Now there would be some who would look at that schedule and those numbers and say, “That doesn’t sound like rest to me. That sounds like a lot of work.” You have to schedule the houses, you have to drive there, you have pack, you have schedule the events, make sure that you have the rooms put together, plan the meals, etc. You would be right, it does seem like a lot of work, but then what would be your definition of rest. Some of you would say that me sitting here writing this blog is not resting, but working and I would argue with you. Currently, I’m sitting on the deck of our house, the sun is coming over the horizon, the ocean is beating the shoreline, I’m having coffee with my wife and enjoying God’s creation. To me I would call this resting.
You see I love what Christ says here in this passage, “Come to Me, al who labor and are heavy laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest.” Not only do I believe that this applies to our spiritual life, but also to our physical life. In your spiritual life if you are walking without the Lord you are wrestling with sin, or that habit, or anything that is against the principles of the Word, Jesus is calling us to come to Him. He’s calling us to stop wrestling with those things. Give them to Him. He will give us a refreshed soul. We have a new life in Him.
However, I also think that this goes a little more than just in our spiritual lives. I think this also goes into our everyday living. When I am all wrapped up in life, when I am all wrapped up in my schedule or in things of this life, even though it may be for the Lord, if I come to the Lord, give it to Him, even though it my schedule doesn’t change I can still find rest. I find that when I put Him first in everything I do, the work that I have to do is easier. When I start my day with Him, the things that are on my schedule get prioritized according to His plan and those things get done. Usually what I would like to get done during the day gets done as well and if it doesn’t, it’s all good. I also find that at the end of the day I feel good and am rested and feel accomplished. God answers His Word.
Well, the sun it up, the waves are calling my name, and its time go and “rest.” Take time today to look to the Lord and “rest” in Him as you go through your day. Love to all.
Pastor Rob
