Be Still

This has been a very different Christmas to me. Maybe because I am tired or maybe because I am busy writing blogs. Being in the Word so much, I have thought more about the true meaning of Christmas . What a blessing. I can hear Jesus saying, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." I know He did not mean for Christmas to be the busiest time of the year! In fact, I bet He would rather me be sitting on the beach basking in the Son! He knows that is where I feel closest to Him. That definitely relaxes my body. There is no time for that with shopping, baking, cleaning, decorating, parties, wrapping, etc.

Matthew 11: 28-30, "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." I think Jesus came so that those who labored under the weight of the law - that could never be fulfilled - would find rest through the forgiveness that Jesus offers. We are in a world that we can not "do" alone. We need a relationship with Christ so He can give us rest.

What is the first thing Jesus tells us if we are weary and burdened? There is no list of things to do. There is nothing difficult to do. Three easy words. "Come to me." If we do not remember the rest, remember, "come to me." In Jesus is the only place we will find rest for our souls.

The world is telling us we need to buy more, do more, go more. Our souls are overloaded with clutter. We need Jesus. And we need Him everyday! Jesus said, "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." A yoke is a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart that they are to pull. It makes a load easier because the two cattle are sharing it. In the same way, Jesus doesn’t want us to carry all our burdens. He designed us to share our burdens.

Jesus also told us, "learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart". He does not want to make us have more endurance and stamina to do more stuff. He wants to make us more humble and gentle. He wants to change us. He knows what causes us stress in our lives. Maybe He said "gentle" and "humble" so we won't be arrogant and aggressive. There is a better way but we can not do it alone. We need Jesus and we need Him everyday! That is the best gift we can open this year! The Prince of Peace would never want us to be panicked, weary and burdened as we try to celebrate Him!

We all bear burdens and become weary, but in different ways, for different reasons, and often at different times. If you are weary, Jesus invites you to "come". Come, take his light yoke.

Exchange your panic for God's peace! And if you did not get a Christmas card for me it is because I let that go this year. So, Merry Christmas to you and yours!