Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
There is a certain familiarity with these verses in Matthew 11 for many of us. We’ve heard them quoted at church or someone has reminded us of them when we’re bombarded with life’s demands. And they often do bring comfort in overwhelming times. But if I’m honest, my Type A, performance-driven self often struggles with these verses and this command to come to Jesus and rest. I don’t want to rest. I want to accomplish things for Jesus. I want to become more like Jesus. I want to “get it right” and do better. All of these things are good things and should be strived for on certain levels, but, if I'm not careful, all my striving and efforts can quickly enter into Pharisee territory.
You see, the Pharisees were the religious leaders of Jesus’ day who were more concerned with following God’s rules and regulations than following God’s plan through His Son Jesus. This ultimately resulted in them sending Jesus to His death because they couldn’t see past the law to see the true Son of God. They missed everything Jesus was teaching entirely - that He was sent by the Father to free the people from the law. Instead, these men chose trying to save themselves through their own attempted (and failed) obedience to the law. Talk about heavy burdens!
In reading this passage, I’m learning that when I am focused on my performance and accomplishments for Jesus, I am actually leaving Jesus out of the equation completely, just like the Pharisees. I’m doing it all on my own. Working to accomplish for Him when all He wanted was for me to come to Him. I burn myself out and feel like I come up short because I can never live up to the expectations I’ve put on myself to follow Him. But here is the good news: He does not ask me to live up to those expectations. He asks me to come to Him. To focus on Him. To learn from Him. To surrender my heart to Him. And something amazing happens when I do this. I experience Him on new levels, and He changes my heart. And with that heart change, I find myself actually able to do those things I was trying so hard to accomplish for Him, simply because I came to Him.
I want to learn to rest in Jesus’ power. I want to trust Him with my heart and my life, and I want to let Him lead and guide me in His ways. It’s not my job to make things happen. That’s His job. It’s my job to follow Him, to come to Him day in and day out.
Whose power are you relying on today, yours or Jesus’?
In reflecting on your relationship with Christ, do you think your thoughts and actions look more like a Pharisee or a follower of Jesus’?
Do you truly believe that simply coming to Jesus will allow you to do more for Him than you could ever dream or do on your own?
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