Rest For Your Soul

"Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light"   Matthew 11:28  (words of Jesus)        

This is my husband,  Robert and our new grand daughter, Haven. We love Haven so much and we have the privilege of taking care of her every Monday, which has now become my favorite day of the week.  It's the day that I put aside all the things that I could and should do and I rest in her presence for several hours while giving her mommy and daddy a much needed break.
I couldn't resist taking this photo.  Haven had been a little fussy this day and did not want to stay down in her bed during her scheduled nap time.  Robert,  as the loving grandpa that he is, picked her up and comforted her and before I knew it they were both sound asleep! 

As grandparent's our love for Haven is unconditional, constant, and ever-present, even when she is away from us.  It reminds me that our heavenly father's love for us is even greater.   Jesus tells us to "come to me."  This verse does not imply that we wait until next month or next year,  it emphasizes the present...now.  God promises to be our partner when we are weary (tired) and burdened by life's many challenging situations.  No burden is too heavy for Jesus and he exudes love and humility from his gentle spirit, and tender heart.  He also promises that he will "give you rest".  This means rest which is freely given and not something to be earned.  It is unconditional, constant, and ever-present, just like our love for our grand baby, yet even more so!  He goes on to say that his "yoke is easy and my burden is light."  In Greek easy means "well-fitting" which makes me think about how easy it is to have a relationship with Him.  He is there for me any and all the time.
A yoke, usually refers to the wooden beam which ties two oxen or other animals together so that they will work together as a team, evenly and smoothly, when plowing a field.  The correlation in this scripture implies the partnership or working together between us and God.   When we learn to rely on Him instead of on our own human frailties,  we are tied together and the good news is that He will always carry more than half the load.   When we are heavy in heart or if we are struggling with hopelessness, anger, bitterness, or illness we can rest in Him and find freedom,  peace,  love and rest.

I truly believe that babies are born with an innate ability to love God and others.   They are innocent and helpless and they are pure in their trust until it is broken.  God honors and loves little babies and children but He also loves you.  For some of us a lifetime of disappointments and hurts makes it more difficult to put ourselves out there and to trust or risk taking a chance again.  For others it is hard to love out of fear of rejection or abandonment.    Jesus wants you to be tied to him so that you can be a part of His family.  He will never reject you or hurt you.  He wants to carry more than His share when your load gets too heavy to carry alone or when you are too tired to go on.   You can rest with Him any time. 
I close with a few words from one of my favorite worship songs from Hillsong Church in Australia.

"Everyone needs compassion,  a love that's never failing,  let mercy fall on me.  Everyone needs forgiveness, the kindness of a savior,  the hope of nations.  

Savior, he can move the mountains, my God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save.

Forever, author of salvation, He rose and conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave.  

So take me as you find me,  all my fears and failures, fill my life again.    I give my life to follow, everything I believe in, now I surrender.....

Shine your light and let the whole world see,  for the glory of the risen king!!" 

God is blessing you.