November 26 (Matthew 11:28)
…I will give you rest.
(ESV)
Now begins the
final push of the year. Students push
toward final exams. Stores push year-end
sales. With a sudden burst of
anxiety-fueled energy, we push to accomplish all the things we think we must as
the year shrinks to weeks and then days and then minutes. Wouldn’t you just like to tell the lot of it
to talk a long walk off a short pier?
Jesus knows that
the deepest desire of your heart, the deepest need of your soul right now is
for peace. And He knows you will need it
again tomorrow and the next day as the busyness of the world like a riptide tries
to pull you under. That is why when He
offers rest to all who come to Him for it, the Greek word literally means “I
will stop you again.” Jesus does not
always want to advance your plans.
Sometimes He wants to stop you because He knows that is what you need
most.
And why do you need that?
Because of the truth of a verse like this. “Be still, and know that I am God,” Psalm
46:10. So accept that in this season
of high demands it can all wait. Truly,
it can. Then go to Jesus and ask for His
rest, which He promises to give you. Not
only will it bring restoration to your mind, body, and spirit, but you will come to
know God even more.
Jesus, please help me keep my eyes on you. From the things I want to the things I feel forced to do, there are so many demands on my attention, and I am not strong enough on my own to hold them off. Stop me, yet again, and let me rest in You. Amen.
Copyright © 2017 by Steven R. Perkins
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