Press the arrow to listen to “Still” by Hillsong Church as you read today’s devotion on rest.

Scripture
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Observation

Question. The closer I come to God, will his demands be harder?

Answer. Easier.

There is something disarming and simple the closer we come to Christ. At the core, we expect God, the Holy One, to be demanding and aloof, until we come to know him. In Jesus, we see that at his centre, God is humble and gentle. Those are two words that would not roll off the tip of my tongue in describing the Almighty.

The epicenter of God is more like a porch swing than a throne room, for what he offers to us in uninhibited relationship.

The call of Jesus is to take burdens off of us and not to load them onto us. So why do we become heavy-laden? Because we must be heading toward something other than Jesus. Maybe it is the expectations of others. Maybe it is the demands of an organization. Maybe it is wrong thinking about who God is. Maybe it is the voice of our mother-in-law. When we come to Jesus, life becomes simple. He gives us one obvious thing to do and then supports us in the doing of it.

Application
The goal of all of my work must be to just be with Jesus and nothing else. The reason the yoke is easy and the burden is light is because he is with me. Time with Jesus is not the reward after my work is done, but while I am doing it.

Prayer
Jesus let me sense you today as we work together. I chose to come to you. Take off from me what doesn’t fit. When I find gentleness and humility I will know I am close to you. Help me to live in that, for I often wander. Amen.