Come to me, all 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. (Matt. 11:28-29, NIV)

Life gets busy, super busy. Sometimes, it’s just one area of our life that causes a lot of stress. Other times, it is a combination of the many things we are involved in. Sooner or later, we all find ourselves in that place where it feels like we have more to do than we could ever handle in a lifetime. We just want to switch off and get away from it all – the demands of life and the expectations of people. Then there may be the guilt of having strayed from our relationship with God: we all struggle sometimes to keep it all together.

Losing a loved one, suffering a heartbreak, going through financial difficulty, navigating academic challenges, handling a difficult boss or colleague, building a new enterprise or caring for a new born child can all have the same effect of leaving you drained and empty on many days. But Jesus calls with a loving and outstretched arm – “Come to me“. He knows what it means to be burdened – having so much to do that you are scared of getting started at all. He is totally committed to giving you rest, but first you must come to Him.

Taking His yoke upon yourself simply means joining up with Him everyday so you can walk with and learn from Him. It means spending some time in prayer no matter how busy your day will be, reading God’s word to prepare your heart, and listening for that still small voice as you make choices and decisions all through the day. We learn as we walk with Jesus, that gentleness and humility help us find rest for our souls. We are not agitated, nor do we strive for things that stress us when we learn from Jesus everyday.

Life can get tough, busy or challenging, but we navigate better when we walk with Jesus each day. We can cast our cares on Him and rest in His love knowing He will lead us in the path that is right and bring to pass our desires in life. More than that, we can be assured He will bring to fulfillment His good purpose for our lives. We can focus on what to do today and cease worrying about tomorrow all because we know He cares for us. Friends, all we need to do is come to Jesus: only he it is who can give true rest to our souls.