PEACE & REST

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” —Matthew 11:28-30

It is amazing how powerful hydraulics are. Pick any piece of heavy equipment and the amount of work that can be done compared to manual labor is astounding. Even with a small tractor the hydraulics can accomplish so much more than the strength a person or many persons. Machinery has taken much of the labor out of work. Dozers, graders, excavators and front end loaders accomplish in a day what it would take a person weeks to do.

The Lord God Almighty accomplishes in one moment more than the whole human race can accomplish in all its existence combined! Why would we labor to live life apart from relationship with Him? Why do we wear ourselves out with heavy burdens that we cannot do anything about? Why would a person not come to Jesus to find rest and to have their burdens lightened, allowing Him to carry them? Pride is the answer!

Ask most men if they need a hand with something they are doing and most men will say, “No, I’m all set. Thanks, I got it!” Men have a tendency to rather wrestle a heavy load themselves then acknowledge they could use a hand. Why is that? Again, the answer is pride!

Here’s how it works. A few years ago I needed to move a bureau. Well, I was bulling it myself and got it outside behind my truck. I put the tailgate down, pulled the top drawer out so I could grab the top and I was going to do a quick snatch and lift it up on the back. I did a quick snatch alright, but the problem was when the top of the bureau detached. Instead of the whole bureau being snatched off the ground I ended up with just the top in my hands. Without the expected weight to come with it I keep going over backwards some distance and ended up on my back in a mud puddle. I lay there for a moment, realized I was still alive and hadn’t broken anything except of course, my pride. My daughter, Rebecca, had been watching out the window of the door, saw the whole thing transpire and rather concernedly said to her mom, “Mom, I think dad hurt himself.” Elaine asked, “You alright?” “Yeh,” I said, “I’m just lying here a moment thanking God that I didn’t kill myself.”

Now, how much easier it would to have had someone give me a hand? But no, I had to do it myself. So it is with Jesus. People just want to try to live without Him and make life so much harder. Unfortunately, the end result of that choice will be much worse than taking a hard fall on one’s back. It will be an eternity of regret! If you have not trusted Jesus, why not come to Him today and experience the peace and rest in your life that only He can give?

Dear Father, I truly do thank You for the peace and rest You have given me in Jesus. I am so grateful to know Him and the purpose of life. May I live in faithful gratitude to Him for life. Yes may this be so!