Day 1: Abide and Find Rest

Come Before Him In Worship: As you begin this 21-day devotional, start with praising Him. Praise Him for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. Thank Him for bringing you to this devotional. Thank Him for how He will speak to you and heal you. Thank Him for how intentional and personal He is with you. Worship Him for being the perfect Father, your Holy King, and loyal Friend. Let the fruit of your lips today be love for Him! Now give yourself to Him by saying this prayer: “My dear Lord, who is like You? In my wandering I have found that You are the treasure of my heart. I have understood that You are my All in All. I quiet my heart to tune in to Yours. I engage every part of me with every part of You. Have Your way in my mind and my heart as I listen to what You have to say to me. I love You Lord. Thank You for what You will do!” Anticipate His lovingkindness leading every part of you back to Him. Hallelujah!

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Devotion: The promise of rest is given to weary sinners by our Savior, Jesus. He gently and lovingly calls to the burdened one, “Come to me and receive rest!” This offer of “rest” is both rich and full! It encompasses peace, freedom from fear, the meeting of all our needs, and so much more. Perhaps you’ve experienced this life-giving rest at some time in your past, but are struggling to find it in your life today. If so, then it’s time to take up His yoke once again!

To all of us that come, Jesus says, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” In other words, “become My students, be trained by Me, let your whole life be one with Me, abide in Me.” Abiding in Jesus is the pathway to His peace. We live in a world that tells us to “find our own truth” and feeds us constant lies that weasel their way into our hearts and lead us down (or keep us on) roads to bondage, anxiety and unrest. In contrast to all of that, Jesus assures us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. This doesn’t mean that what He asks of us will always be easy or light. It means that He will carry the burden with and for us, as we’re “yoked” to Him.

So, let us believe that it is not His yoke, but resistance to His yoke, that is causing us difficulty, and surrender to Jesus’ call to abide. Come and let Him prove that this is, in fact, the place of safety, victory, peace and rest, as we experience all that our Lord wants to give us of Himself!

Respond in Prayer: Thank you Lord for this invitation of Oneness with You! In this Oneness I find rest that supernaturally transforms me from the inside out. So, I remain open and willing before You for You to teach me how to abide in Your rest. I long to live in and from this place. There is no other way. How blessed am I to have the greatest Teacher and Shepherd to show me the way to Life!