Rest

This afternoon I was contemplating my busy schedule and wondering why on earth I’ve signed up for so many projects all at the same time. Ever been there? It’s not that anything I’m doing is something I particularly dislike either, in fact, most of it is stuff I love doing. It’s just there’s so much going on. My brain was whirling with plans and preparations, and suddenly I found myself wishing I could just slow down and erase some of this busyness from my to-do list.

Then this verse popped into my head – “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.” (Mt. 11:29-30)

Here it was – a Bible verse to justify reducing my busyness and amount of ministry!  Not only was I to find joy in serving Jesus, but I was to find rest too.  And that’s not something I have in abundance right now!

But then I realized I was missing a key factor – “rest for your soul.” In other words, there’s an internal peace and rest when you take Jesus’ yoke. Jesus didn’t promise that life would be one easy stroll down a rose-lined path. But rather, the inner turmoil would quiet, and the soul would find peace. As for that physical rest, well, life’s more like a marathon. Each of us is given a specific piece of time in which to accomplish as much for Jesus as possible. And, though some days may seem long, in the grand scope of eternity, our time here to accomplish great things is shorter than the blink of an eye.

So I was reminded to keep running that race of life, and to finish well. The busyness of ministry is a good thing. But in that busyness it is essential that you keep that “one needful thing” – taking time to quiet your soul before Jesus and commune with Him (Lk. 10:42). That’s where your soul finds rest. And when your soul is at rest, that marathon of life somehow doesn’t seem so hard after all.