How Can We Find Rest?

In today ’s world, many are seeking rest. They look to drugs, alcohol and any way they can find rest. Country music legend Merle Haggard, who died in 2016, seemed to have looked for rest and peace in all the wrong places. He once said, “There’s a restlessness in my soul that I’ve never conquered, not with motion, marriages or meaning… It’s still there to a degree, and it will be till the day I die.”

Jesus invites every one of us to “Come to Me.” Matthew 11:28 says when we receive salvation in Jesus, He will take the burdens from us and “give us rest.” The words in Matthew 11:28-29 are the most comforting in the gospels. Finding this deep soul-rest in Him is what we all need in these turbulent times.

The first six verses of this chapter describe how John the Baptist wants confirmation that he rightly identified Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus affirms John’s previous confidence before telling of the greatness Jesus had displayed in verses 20-24 in cities where His work was nevertheless rejected. And then He turns to the Father in prayer (vv. 25-26). This leads into Jesus’ offer of rest. This probably was the very kind of rest that John needed. Christ recognizes how weak and frail we are, and He knows what we need and offers us “rest.”

John 10:10 tells us that the only requirement is to believe in Jesus and to live the abundant life He provides. Matthew 11:29 says believing in Jesus results in our finding “rest for our souls.” When we come to Jesus, He gives peace to our restless souls by giving us a new way to live in Him. Christ gives us true rest!

Prayer – Jesus, there is a restlessness in my life. Show me how to find peace and rest in You alone. Amen.

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

Author: The Rev. Tommy Herndon
Photos: Ben White, Heather Mount & Khoi Tran, courtesy of Unsplash