rest

24
Dec
2019

Are you tired?

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on September 24, 2016.

Are you tired?

by Mary Meyer

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

So often, I’m so tired.  Between school and work, I chase from one task to another and get worn out.  Have you ever been so tired that you couldn’t keep your eyes open, no matter how hard you tried?  Doctors say that kids anywhere from the ages of 6-13 need about 9-11 hours of sleep.  Teenagers need 8-10 hours, and adults need 7-9 hours (Mayo Clinic). When we don’t get that amount of sleep in a night, our bodies feel weak and tired.  When we are overtired, we turn to our beds, cuddle up with a blanket and drift into dreamy sleep.

There’s another kind of tired, though, that sleep alone can’t cure.  When Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened” (Matthew 11:28), he wasn’t talking so much about being physically tired, but about being mentally, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. That happens to us because of how sin-burdened our whole world is (cf. Romans 8:22-24).  When life in this world is wearing us down, Jesus calls out to us, inviting us into his open arms.  “I will give you rest,” he said (Matthew 11:28).  When a nap isn’t enough, Jesus wraps us up in his love.  We don’t need to worry about the big science test coming up, or be frustrated by obstacles in life that make us feel overwhelmed.  We have God’s constant promises.  We have his powerful hand reassuring us that he will always take care of us.  “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:32)?  When we are sick, when we have committed a sin, when we are just plain tired of our busy lives, Jesus is there as our spiritual resting place. He tells us that he loves us, he forgives us, and that he will have his hand on our shoulders in every time of need.

The next time you feel that things are getting too hard or that your body aches with tiredness, fold your hands, bow your head, and rely on Christ’s all-encompassing love to comfort you. Jesus cares for you.  In him always you will find the rest that you need.

Prayer:
Dear Savior, lift us up when we feel weak, give us comfort when we feel burdened, and give us rest when we feel tired. We know that you care about us and our needs, because you died under the weight of all our sins and rose again to bring us back to life.  Help us to feel awake and free, so that we may sing your praise forever. Amen.

Posted by Electric Gospel
24
Dec
2019

Burdened no more

Originally published on the Electric Gospel on August 2, 2016. Kristen wrote this devotion in connection with a workshop on Devotional Writing that I led that summer. 

Burdened no more

by Kristen Koepsell

Recently I read about a woman who hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1950. Modern long-distance hikers disagree whether more or less gear is best. Imagine hiking with someone there only to carry your stuff. You don’t have to carry anything. No rubbing straps, sore shoulders, pressured spine, tired body from the extra weight, regret of every unnecessary thing packed. …

That is us. We carry nothing. We walk free and tall, with light step and heart, because our Savior daily bears our burdens.

What’s weighing you down today? If you hefted a backpack that held one rock for every concern on your heart, what would those rocks be? May I share mine? I’m responsible for 171 kids and 87 volunteers next week at Vacation Bible School, and the task list is outpacing the hours left. My online class requires three revised devotions and one brand-new by Saturday. My brother and sister-in-law just changed states without job plans. My best friend cries because her marriage is cracking. My mother is diabetic. Bible camp might be cancelled due to lack of interest. Two Sunday school teachers just quit.  The refrigerator is nearly empty.  My Bible reading is nonexistent.  One of my turn signals is out.  And I’m still single.

Two things answer this weight.

  • One, Jesus shouldered our sin for us, the root of human burdens. When I cry, “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear,” (Psalm 38:4), the Holy Spirit answers, “He himself bore [your] sins in his body on the cross.” (1 Peter 2:24). Every day as we collect more burdens of sin, Jesus says, “No, I’ll take that. That one’s mine, and that one….”
  • Two, he does not carry only our sin, leaving us to carry the “smaller” issues. He doesn’t say, “I’ll take care of Mom but you have to handle VBS.” The God who sees a sparrow fall and counts our very hairs also shoulders every one of our day-to-day concerns. “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Psalm 68:19).

I pray that each day you can praise God your Savior, living with light heart and mind. He is carrying the weight. You are burdened no more.

Then use his strength to assist others, to carry each other’s burdens when you can (cf. Galatians 6:2), but ultimately to extend the invitation:  “Come to [him], you who are…burdened, and he will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Posted by Electric Gospel