Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.     Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV

I honestly can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week. It seems like yesterday was New Year’s Day and here we are all over again. I’ve found myself busier than ever lately and I know some of my dear friends can relate because we have talked about it.

It’s been a great year with many good changes, the greatest being the arrival of our granddaughter. It has also been a really busy year. Fortunately, however, I get to spend a couple days a week with my granddaughter, and I get to slow down and realize what’s really important like the smell and the feel of that precious baby girl sleeping against my chest. Then that big old to-do list melts down to the it-can-wait list.

I love our Scripture passage today because Jesus acknowledges our need for true rest. In Matthew 11 vv. 21-24 Jesus rebukes these cities where He has performed great works, and they still didn’t repent. He points out that their indifference to salvation through Him will be worse than the wickedness of Sodom come judgment day.

Then in verse 25, Jesus uses sarcasm when he refers to the Jewish leaders as wise and prudent. He refers to the followers of Christ as babes. He goes on to speaks of God’s sovereignty over all things. He promises permanent rest.

What Jesus is saying here is He is the way to God the Father. We don’t have to concern ourselves with works of the law to be saved, we only need to trust in Him.  You see many of the Jewish people believed that it was their works that would save them.

So often we work at many things that don’t matter just like those Jewish people worked so hard with all their legalism to try to find salvation when it was right there in Jesus.

If you are like me, you are wondering how you will ever cram things like putting a tree up, buying and wrapping gifts, cooking for gatherings and attending gatherings into an already tight schedule.

Something’s gotta give and it’s gotta be me. I’ve gotta give myself and my busy schedule over to Him. I’ve got to devote myself to Him and His word. I’ve got to let Him do the rest and provide the rest.

We are told in the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3 that the poor or lowly in spirit are blessed for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. We are told in Isaiah that God lives in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the oppressed.

When the going gets tough, turn to Jesus, hold onto His mighty hand and He will walk you through the fire and the flame (Isaiah 43:2). He will bring you rest and healing and peace and comfort.

Lastly Jesus said we can take up His yoke and learn from Him. We do this by trusting in Him and studying His word. He will teach us all about His great love for us. He shows us how we should live. And while He never promises us that we won’t go through hard times, He does promise to be right there with us. He promises never to leave nor forsake us.

If you are tired, turn to Him. Don’t give up. We are told in Galatians 6:9 that we must not grow tired when we are doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up.

Turn to Him and embrace Him as we go through the bustle of the holiday season. And remember it’s about being thankful and loving Jesus and celebrating Him. All the other stuff is just fluff. Focus on what’s real.

Have a great day!