All you who labor

Matthew 11:28

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

This was a rough week for me. Will was out of town over the weekend and my son had a toothache that lasted from Friday night until Tuesday morning. We weren’t able to fix the problem until Tuesday because of the infection and the pain medicine that he was given made him very sick. I have never seen him in so much pain, and have never felt so helpless. Then we went through a very painful procedure on Tuesday that I think has taken us both the remainder of the week to get over. So the little amount of sleep I had for those first few days mixed with drama and emotional turmoil has created a feeling of exhaustion for me that I cannot shake. I have a sign that my mom bought me that says, I am woman, I am invincible, I AM tired. I usually look at it and smile, this week when I have caught a glance at it I’m pretty sure I just rolled my eyes.

When I sat down this morning and opened up my daily devo book Matthew 11:28 was the title. I immediately knew that was going to be what I wrote to you today.

The King James version says this, Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. The Greek word for laden in this passage is this Phortizo which means, to load up, to overburden with (spiritual anxiety).  The Greek word for rest in this passage is anapauo which means to repose, to refresh. It signifies to give intermission from labor, to give rest, to refresh so to recover strength.

I just stopped after reading that and made a list of all the things that I labor against, and I hope that you will stop right here and do the same.  After reading back over my list I placed each item into one of the following categories. a.) My responsibilities b.) Life c.) my choices d.) things that are NOT my choices. I realized that most of my items fell into the c category (my choices). Here are a few examples: activities, ministry opportunities, hobbies, scheduling and interests. The next in line was the category a.(my responsibilities), example: family, work and ministry commitments etc. Then there is b (Life), this one is hard because I put the list of people that are sick or hurting or struggling in anyway, basically my prayer list of everything that I emotionally labor against, this list could have been so long and detailed but I tried to simplify it today for the purpose of the example. Then last but defiantly not least category d (things that are NOT my choices), this one frustrates me the most. You know these things, the ones that somehow you were just sucked into. Whether it be from circumstance or relation we all have these and sometimes they can be the most draining. I am realizing today that if I could mark those things off my list I probably wouldn’t be as tired when dealing with the others.

Then God prompted me to create another separate list and title it “Things that I make people labor against”. Sometimes God just isn’t fair when shoving a mirror in our face as we are pointing the finger to others. He is always sifting, isn’t He?

Anyone out there tired of being tired? Are you worn out by your list of things that you labor against? Are you exhausted from fighting against someone or for something that is so out of your control but yet the cords that bind you to it or so tight that until victory is won over it you are stuck with it, being pulled along, sometimes dragged around by it?

Have you become so consumed by bitterness and hurt by betrayal or loss that you have lost all respect, and all focus on the things that really matter? And for your life you can’t let that person or that hurt go long enough for either one of you to take a breath?

Listen, can you imagine the thrill the Enemy must feel when we become our own masters of destruction? When he has to do nothing but make us acutely aware of how hopeless and desperate our situations become and then he sits back and waits for us to react. How many of us are tired of reacting off of our emotions! I know I am. We serve a God who is so much more powerful than that. He created us for heaven’s sake and gave us every single emotion that we feel, to every extreme that we can feel it. He didn’t set us up for failure. He offered us free will mixed with the power of hope that covers our faith. We are left with one choice, what are we going to do with it?

If after trying everything else why not give Him chance? Sometimes this can happen in the middle of what we feel are the best seasons we have with Him. I can’t tell you how it happens each time but I know that if I lose focus for a day, and God help some of us, for the loss of focus we have had for years, then the footing we have dug our heals into so deep gets ripped away faster than all the strength we’ve spent planting it combined. Then we are left with nothing but the overwhelming feeling of defeat.

So whatever you labor today, or whatever you are making someone labor against remember that He wants you to come to Him and He will give you rest (and thank goodness the much needed rest to others too).

Sometimes I think we just make it too hard. We think knowing Him and serving Him is too hard or too difficult and let’s be honest some of you think it is flat out just not a necessity or too weird.  I promise you it is all of those things and none of those things at the same time. There are times where I would stand on a street corner if the circumstance was right and wear the “Jesus Freak” t-shirt just like some of the others. Then there are the times I am so internally humiliated by doing something that He has called me to do that I hardly know how to pull it off. Just so you know, It isn’t always those extremes. I think they happen to me a lot because I still deal with pride and comfort that doesn’t belong within me. After all when I came back to Him I made the promise that whatever it was I would be willing, and I am always reminded of that when I want to crawl under my bed and hide...be careful what you commit to. Not really, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Yes, I am tired and yes life is crazy but thank you LORD that you are offer us a resting place. Safe in the arms of you, secured by the sacrifice of your Son, and bound by the covenant and the promise of eternal life everlasting. I pray that each of us lay this list of burdens down to you this week and you minister to us as to where the changes can occur and in between all of this that you would give is rest. The old saying, “No rest for the weary” is only true if the weary don’t turn to you. For this is the day that the LORD has made, I will rejoice (after much needed rest) and be glad in it.