Rest For Your Weary Soul

 Have you ever been so tired you couldn’t rest? Your legs get jumpy and your mind won’t shut off. You lie there and think, I’m so tired, why can’t I sleep?

For the past few months, I have been resting from ten years of caring for my aging and ill parents. It’s been a long journey, but now they are home with Jesus. I cared for my dad for two years being in and out of the hospital and watched his health decline until his heart gave out.

My mom’s path was a bit different. She had multiple myeloma in her spine. It’s a degenerative cancer that leaves the spine bone looking like a honeycomb. She also had kidney disease. She opted not to have chemo or dialysis. I also watched her decline over eight years.

God graced me with what I needed to care for them. Now I am resting. It’s been a challenge because I am so used to running and caring for others. Now it’s time to care for myself. This is not easy for me.

Matthew 11:27-30 says: All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.

Most of us are aware of the verse highlighted above, but its practicality is inspiring. A craftsman will make the yoke specifically fitted in size, weight, and dimensions for an animal. That yoke was perfect for that specific animal, so the load would be easier to handle.

This is exactly what Jesus is saying here. Take my yoke on you because it is easy to bear and not hard to carry. It is rest for your soul.

In September, I took a 30-day rest from Social Media. At first, it was hard, I found I was reaching for my phone during downtimes or periods of boredom. I sought to fill that time with prayer. I wasn’t on point all the time; I did take an occasional peek. But the experience made me able to hear God more clearly than before. I think I was resting more, I was able to hear Him better without the social noise. 

Rest – it’s so important for our physical, emotional, and spiritual beings.