Living an Ordinary Week: Seeing God in SimplicityUzorak

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
(Matthew 11:28 NIV)

Wednesday marks the day on which people grow weary. 

While not necessarily always on Wednesday, everyone does grow weary. In Isaiah 40, the prophet declares, “even youths grow tired and weary.” 

Knowing our need for rest, Jesus extended an invitation to all to come to Him to find such a seemingly elusive gift. Continuing with the theme, the apostle Paul encouraged his hearers to not become weary doing good.

Weariness invades everyone’s life; it is no respecter of persons. Toddlers learning to walk, children up too late, teenagers cramming for exams, moms and dads tending to children at three a.m., young professionals burning the midnight oil, senior adults worn down by the years—all know weariness. Does a solution exist? Can we prevail?

The answers to those questions return us to familiar territory—to the arena of “easier said than done.” Yet, nevertheless, the affirmative “yes” answers both questions. So—what’s the solution? How can you prevail?

A reminder of our essence will prove helpful. The Word of God drives home the amazing truth that God created you. You did not arrive due to some accidental progression of nature. You were created and in God’s image you were created.

When He formed you, He gifted you with a body, a soul, and a spirit. While the discussions prove complex, in summary, we exist as physical, emotional, and spiritual beings. Therefore, regarding the subject at hand, we grow weary physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

With that grounding, we return now to the questions—

“What’s the solution?” and “How can we prevail?”

One answer belongs to both.

REST

That’s it! The cure for weariness is, in a word—rest.”

Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Question: Ella Bell, at 100 years old, gave her worries to God and encouraged people not to worry and shared, “The world could be falling apart and I wouldn’t worry. I’d just bake an apple pie.”  What is your version of baking an apple pie?