Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matt 11:28 (NLT).
Like we talked about yesterday, shame and guilt can often cause us to reject Jesus' invitation to ‘come to him’. Sometimes the things we think will ease our burdens and rejuvenate our weariness, only mock us and bring us further down. Maybe it's a person you went to for help, or a habit that is now a controlling addiction, a relationship that's unhealthy, that has taught you to keep your mouth and heart shut and just go on pretending that everything is OK.
Jesus will never reject you. When you come to Him with your burdens and tired souls, He will never laugh at you, point His finger at you, tell you that you should have done better… He is our trustworthy and humble teacher, our gentle father, and our mighty and true Saviour.
Some of us, through our choices and experiences, have conjured up this idea that Jesus wants to punish us when we bring our tired hearts and heavy lives to him. It's quite the opposite. It's a holy moment, its the cross in action, grace outworked, hope realised, the power of God made manifest, the blood of Jesus flowing freely. Its actually why He went to the cross, died and rose again – so that He could be our SAVIOUR… Meaning, to SAVE US… Meaning, that its ok for us to need saving. In our western culture, we have to work really hard at debunking the myth that Jesus only wants perfect people who have everything together. All Jesus wants is you and me, everyone everywhere, in any state or situation… He alone has the tools and skills, the knowledge and grace to put back together and rebuild our lives. Piece by piece, day by day, moment by moment.
It's His honour and privilege, the fulfilment of HIS purpose, to exchange our weary, tired and heavy hearts for His perfect and unexplainable rest.
When you come to Jesus, you will not find pointed fingers, or hear “I told you so”… You will find rest for your souls. It's His gift to you. Have a restful day no matter how busy you may be…
