Devotion – Celebrating the Promise of True Rest

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

When I was younger, I must admit that I was not too excited about promises from the Bible about rest. I wanted to be doing things, I wanted action, excitement, so promises about rest were not a big deal to me then. I figured such promises were for the old & worn out.

Then I got old & worn out.

Rest sounds pretty good to me right now. It must have sounded good to those people Jesus was speaking to as well. They mostly did manual labor from sunrise to sundown. Everything from clean the clothing to preparing a simple meal was labor intensive. At the end of a long day, hearing Jesus promise them rest truly must have been music to their ears.

And He promises us the same. Yes, rest is a precious promise.

Today there are fewer manual jobs than in Jesus’ time preaching on the earth, yet much weariness today comes from mental & emotional stress on the job. And for those who are afflicted, dealing daily with the pain & stress of an illness can be incredibly wearing, & cause extreme exhaustion & fatigue. Those who have felt completely exhausted, whether from work or from physical or mental affliction, they know how important rest is, & appreciate it when it comes.

No matter whether you are feeling rested or weary, keep in mind that when the time comes that your resources are gone, when you find yourself exhausted, call upon the Lord, let Him give you peace & rest for your weariness. You may be weary & exhausted right now, call upon the Lord, ask Him to give you rest.

Prayer: Dear Lord, give us the rest we need, & thank You for the promise of rest to come. Amen.

About the Author:
Karlton Douglas lives in Ohio with his lovely wife. With God’s help he has survived many years with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Crohn’s Disease. He is author of the book: Chronic Illness.