Learning to Live From a Heart of Restနမူနာ

Resting in Your Belovedness

Beloved, the highest call on your life—above any personal passion or pursuit—is to be loved by God and take your place as His child. This is a worthy calling. When we start believing what the world tells us our calling is—to do, to accomplish, to achieve—our tendency to strive creeps in, keeping us from living out our true identity.

But if our tendency to hustle holds us back from the life we long for, wouldn’t it be just like God to give us a rest that propels us? And that’s exactly what He does.

Jesus offers us a powerful invitation in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me,” He says, “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.”

Jesus’s call is not about a set of rules or a program to sign up for. “Come!” He says. (In the original language the “Come” is exclamatory.) “Rest in Me.” Yes, there is work to be done. But as the Beloved, we’ve been invited to come and yield ourselves to His “yoke”—where we work from His strength, knowing He has already borne the heavy load for those He loves!

The truth is, because of Jesus, we don’t have to pretend or perform anymore. We can even be honest with God and others about our weaknesses! In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul says, “I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me!” (ESV, emphasis added)

Isaiah 40:31 promises that “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” Once again, Scripture tells us that waiting on God, hoping in God, resting in God is where strength comes from. What a contrast from the world’s promise that the more we strive, the happier we will be. It’s only when we live from a place of rest, knowing our Belovedness is not dependent on what we do, that we can truly answer our highest calling.

As you consider the next 24 hours, how would your view of your work or tasks change if you looked at them from a place of rest rather than striving?