Called Out of ChaosSample

Lifting the Burden

We usually end up dropping one of our plates, or more, because we are holding onto too many. We know that our identity in Christ means we don’t have to do everything to be valued, and we know that dropping a plate isn’t the end of the world. Still, how do we step out of the chaos and lighten the load on our lives? 

We need to believe what Matthew 11:28 says and learn to rest. I know what you are thinking, “How am I supposed to rest when I have millions of things I must accomplish before the day is over”, or “How can I be intentional in finding rest when there is so much to do?” Trust me I get this. There are some seasons in life that it seems nearly impossible to find any time to ourselves and reflect on our day and lives. Maybe rest doesn’t look like spending an entire day at a stay-in spa where someone is massaging all our worries away, although that would be amazing. Rest can be simple and easy. 

Usually, when we try to rest, we end up failing because the activities that we say are restful are not providing us true rest. We think, “If I go outside to answer my emails it will be more restful because I’m in nature”, or “When I get home and lay on the couch while scrolling through Instagram, I will be relaxed.” In reality, these things are not getting to the core of why we need rest in the first place. 

We don’t need to rest because we are tired. We need rest because we are burned out from the things in our life that take our energy. Rest should not be the absence of doing something. Rest should be  replenishing ourselves with Christ who will fill us up. 

Following verse 28, Jesus says to learn how to rest from Him and that He will never lay anything heavy on us. In the message version, Jesus says we should "learn the unforced rhythms of grace." (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG). This is the concept of saying we can have a life of less stress when we are relying on His grace to fulfill us and give us peace. 

His grace gives us a life of knowing that we do not have to strive and earn anything. We have been given everything from the Father and have been saved by grace, through faith. 

This week when you want to rest, don’t treat it as a time to do nothing, but as a time to learn the unforced rhythms of grace and be filled up knowing who is filling you.