Given the culture’s preoccupation with staying connected electronically to our various worlds, it is no wonder that fatigue has become a real issue in our lives. Sabbath rest has been an increasingly elusive opportunity as the work flow has intruded into our homes. We go through email at all hours, attend meetings online, and maintain overflowing schedules.
So where does one find rest on life’s journey? Is it possible to rest in any way when you’re constantly on the move? As we scramble to find Sabbath time each week, where can we find such rest?
I believe Jesus anticipated our situation. In Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV), he offers such rest: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.”
Leading and Following
In Western culture, most of us have never seen a yoke. A large piece of wood, it sat upon the shoulders of the oxen that pulled the plow, or wagon, or whatever burden needed to be moved. The energy of the animal was transmitted to what was being pulled behind, attached with a rope, a chain, or even a tree branch. When the oxen were in pairs, one of the pair was always the leader—the stronger one, the more experienced one, the calmer one. This one would lead and the other would follow along.
In this well-known Scripture, Jesus invites us to let him lead, let him carry the burden, let his gentleness and humility be alongside us. What could be better than that? He is the leader and weight-bearer—stronger, smarter, more resourceful than we could ever be, willing to both lead and carry the burdens so that we can have access to rest. Rest in the midst of the journey; rest from the burden of the unrelenting schedules; rest from the constant need for communication by phone, text, and email; rest that is genuine rest.
Amazing concept, but is it practical? More than you might imagine. Tuning our hearts and lives to this kind of rest can often make the difference between success and failure, not only in our work, but in life itself. All of us have natural limits—emotionally, spiritually, physically, and psychologically. Trying to carry any burden alone when Jesus offers such assistance seems short-sighted at best. Besides, he loves you and is just waiting for you to ask.
Practicing the Presence
Imagine him next to you as you walk, drive, prepare for a meeting, sit at a conference table. We believe he is there with us (“I will never leave you or forsake you,” he promised), but we still have to practice the Presence—to get used to being aware of his presence, living into the meaning of his love for us and how he wants us to thrive. Thriving is nothing more than being alongside him and paying attention long enough that we learn from him and gradually become more like him. With the added presence of the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit will emerge. In life, what is healthy will always grow.
The alternative is to separate ourselves from Jesus and gradually wither away, decay, and eventually accept that the deadness we feel within is normal. All of our striving, even our strenuous moral striving, is fueled only by the energy we can bring to it. All of us will soon reach our limits without being genuinely rested and recharged.
Jesus’s yoke provides us rest as we walk, work, plan, and engage in our lives. This is work he promises to do. It is on his shoulders.
Model Behavior
Schedules swell up in December, especially for Christian leaders. It would be easy to wear ourselves down in the onslaught of Christmas activities. But if we truly want to lead others to let Christ lead them, shouldn’t we model that behavior for them? Shouldn’t we take his yoke upon us and let him lead us into appropriate times of rest and restoration?
For us, and for those we lead, being yoked with Jesus is the only way to thrive in the hectic world we inhabit. Give yourself permission to find that rest every day.
