Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt overwhelmed by the things of this world? Moments where life seemed so difficult and no matter what you did, things didn’t work out?
Don’t worry, God tells you “Come to me all you who are labored and loaded”.
We all go through periods like that, and they are times of learning and testing that allow you to grow stronger in Jesus.
In fact, Christians go through these situations more times than you think. But the difference is that we know that we can rest in God, that we can leave our burdens in his hands.
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“Come to me, all you who are labored and heavy-laden”: Matthew 11:28
This message is made up of several messages that we will explain separately and in detail:
come to me
The first thing that Jesus tells us is: “Come to me” We are allowed to go to God personally; there is nothing between him and us. The simplicity of Jesus’ promise is surprising and refreshing. Jesus does not offer us a fourfold path to peace-giving enlightenment but he simply offers himself as the universal solution to everything that weighs us down.”
And his simple promise is bold: “Come to me, all you who labor and weary.” Jesus is who he says he is: the eternal Word made flesh, our Creator (John 1:1-3, 14 ; John 8:58 ; Hebrews 1:1-3). Her simple promise implies a power behind her more than enough to lift what weighs us down.
What does it mean to come to Jesus?
When we read the context of this promise (Matthew 11-12), its meaning becomes clear. In his rebuke to the cities (Matthew 11:20-24) and religious leaders (Matthew 12:1–8) who saw firsthand his miraculous works, demonstrating so clearly who he was (John 5:36), and yet they refused to believe in him, we know that when Jesus said, “come to me,” he meant, “believe in who I say I am and therefore in what I can do for you.”
And this is where our overwhelmed souls are put to the test. Will we believe in him? Will we trust him? We want our souls to rest in the knowledge of how and when our pressing problems will be addressed. But Jesus does not provide those details. He simply promises us that he will take care of them.
Jesus does not want our souls to rest on how and when, as if we were wise enough to understand and determine them. He rather wants our souls to rest in the assurance that he will fulfill his promise in the best way at the best time.
“Come to me,” he says, “cast your anxieties on me because I care about you” (1 Peter 5:7). “Trust in me with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5), says, “and they will find rest for their souls.”
God loves you, in fact, He loves you so much that Jesus died on the Cross just to prove it. Jesus didn’t have to come to this earth and die, but God’s love is so great, and he wanted us so much that he decided to come. Take a moment to consider that and you will understand that you are loved.
all who are loaded
God lets us know who needs rest: they are the ones who work and are burdened, but whatwhat does that mean? In this context, those who work are those who strive to do everything on their own and fail.
I know that in my life when I try to do everything with my own strength, it doesn’t work out. when you’re overloadedIt is as if your spirit, your mind, your will and your emotions cannot function because you have this weight on you that you try to lift by yourself. He makes you feel depressed, anxious, among other things.
Then,what does god say when we are tired? He will give us rest, and the best thing is that he even tells us how and that is by taking his yoke upon us and learning from him. So what does God give us rest from?
1. Fear
We don’t have to be afraid of anything in this world because God is with us and supernaturally protects us. Have you ever been so close to being in a car accident and you were sure it was going to happen, but at the last minute it didn’t? That’s God keeping you safe.
2. Hopelessness
In Jeremiah 29:11 God says: “Because I know the thoughts I have of you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” God has good plans for your life and you can rest easy knowing that no matter what your life is like right now, if you trust God it will get better.
3. Addictions
We all start out thinking that we can always control that sin we are about to commit, whether it is alcohol, smoking, drugs, or pornography; and for a while, you can. Eventually, the addiction caught up with him and now controls him. God wants to free you and give you rest from the torture to which you are subjected. In Isaiah 58:6 we are told:
- Release the bonds of evil.
- Undo heavy loads.
- Let the oppressed go free.
- Break every yoke.
God can take that addiction and crush it in your life if you let him. For some people, it will be instantaneous, and for others, it will be a process where God heals their heart of the things that caused the bondage in the first place.
4. Depression
Depression deprives you of the ability to enjoy life and it not only hurts you mentally but also physically. That is not God’s will for you and you were not created that way. God wants you to live a full life and he can heal your mind as you take those steps of faith to find rest from him.
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Take my yoke and learn from me
In the next verse it says “Take my yoke”. But if what he promises us is rest, why does he tell us to put on his yoke? He puts a yoke on a beast of burden to do some work. whatJesus offers us rest or work?
That is precisely the question Jesus wants us to ask: What work should we do for him that is supposed to give us rest? Jesus answered this question in John 6:29: “This is the work of God: that you believe in the one he has sent.” He responded in John 15:4:
“Abide in me” (like a branch on a vine).
Believing and persevering: that is really all the work that God requires of us. Faith (believe and abide) is based on God’s hopeful promises. That is the yoke that Jesus calls us to put on..
And what is happening here is a change of yoke. On the cross, Jesus took our inconceivably unbearable heavy yoke of condemnation and punishment for sin, and he offers us in return the easy and unbearable yoke. the light load to just trust him.
He does all the work and gives us the rest. And his work not only fully addresses our sin problem, but also supplies whatever other needs we have (Philippians 4:19). All we have to do is trust him!
And as if that were not enough, by becoming human and living among us, Jesus makes it possible for us to learn from him to live by faith. That is why the author of Hebrews tells us:
Look at Jesus, the founder and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sits at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
Believe, remain and follow in his footsteps (1 Peter 2:21). That is the light yoke that Jesus calls us to put on. It is the only yoke that exists that gives us rest for our souls.
When are our souls at rest?
Our souls only find rest in hope. That’s what we frantically search for whenever our souls are burdened and restless: hope. And that’s what most of the marketing of most of the world’s products tries to offer us: hope.
But they are false hopes of soul rest, providing only a temporary distraction or briefly masking the effects of our burdened souls. They don’t really lighten our burdens.
“Jesus is the only answer to all the questions, worries, fears, and needs we will ever have.”
Jesus knows that only he is our salvation, our strength, our mighty rock, our refuge. He is the only answer to all the questions, worries, fears and needs that we will ever have. And so, he offers himself simply and completely. Because our hope is from him. Only in him will we find rest for our souls.
How to find God’s rest?
So how do we find God’s rest? We become like Jesus through the Holy Spirit. You can’t do it alone. It’s not about trying harder, it’s about trusting more.
As you take those small steps of faith (the ones are different for each person), and God comes for you, you KNOW you can trust Him, that one thing that gives you the courage to try the next thing. It is only when we experience God that we become more like Jesus and can rest in Him.
It is a process
Learning to rest in God takes time and is a process. It’s like peeling an onion. He peels back one layer and thinks that he has achieved it and learned what God’s rest is, only to find that there is another layer for you to discover, learn and enjoy. It’s a journey of a lifetime that only gets better and better if you let it.
Ask God today for the first small step to finding His rest, and then do what He tells you to do. Not sure how to hear his voice? Learn to search for it. The process is different for everyone because you are different from everyone. Let God show you the best path and then be thankful when you take those first steps.
Let’s go to Jesus together
Jesus’ great invitation for us to come to him, exchange yokes, and find rest is not for us to do it in isolation. He intends that we go to him in community, unite. That is a big reason why the church exists:
“Believe, remain and follow the example of Jesus. And you will find rest for your soul.”
We all carry loads and get tired, but in different ways, for different reasons, and often at different times. When we are tired, we are easily discouraged and can be given to cynical disbelief. At such times, we are often not the best preachers of our souls. We need others to tell us the truth and help us believe in Jesus.
That is why we should not neglect “meeting together, as is the custom of some, but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:25). We must “exhort one another every day, so that we are not hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13).
So if you are tired, for whatever reason, however complex, Jesus invites you to come. Come, take his light yoke of believing in him. And if it’s difficult, don’t come alone. Come to Jesus with and through a believing friend. He believes, remains and follows the example of Jesus. And you will find rest for your soul.
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final thoughts
“Come to me, all of you who labor and are heavy laden” is a very beautiful expression that tells us everything that Jesus wants to do for us. Our God does not want us to carry alone with that weight that can overwhelm our life, He longs for us to give him our burdens and also promises to make us rest.
He offers us the easy so we can truly enjoy our lives…