Dad. Father. Pops. Pa Pa.
Whatever you call him, God wants you to trust Him, learn from Him, and come to Him with the understanding that He is your true Father.
Jesus has always had an exclusive relationship with God as His Father, and he talks about that in this passage. God gave him a place of great privilege and responsibility - nobody can approach or know the Father apart from Jesus. In Matthew 11:27, Jesus says, "no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
In other words, if you don't know Jesus, you don't really know God.
If you haven't listened to the life and words of Jesus, you don't know the Father.
Pretty exclusive and seemingly-offensive claims - aren't they?
Either Jesus is telling the truth or He isn't. Decide for yourself, and decide at your own risk...
But for those who DO know the Father.. and respond to the invitation of Jesus... you will get REST for your SOUL.
He says, "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."
Life is going to stress you out.
People will let you down.
Your health won't always be on your side.
Work and bills and taxes and responsibilities weigh on all of us.
Jesus offers to shoulder the load of your life.
When you're tired, talk to Him about it.
When you're feeling overwhelmed, just talk to Him about it.
When you're confused about what to do, tell Him you're ready to learn whatever He has to teach.
It's a promise - "Come to me... and I will give you rest."
That's another reason for doing this 40-Day journey... so we can keep reminding ourselves to go to Him!
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Dear God, thanks for this invitation. Jesus, thanks for inviting me to a place of rest, understanding, and encouragement. Thanks for promising to take the burdens of my life and help me overcome them. Thanks for this reality of trusting you, and not trying to solve it all myself. I don't have to. Quite often, I can't, anyway.
Help me come to you on a regular basis... and find rest. You know when I'm stressed, when I'm tired, when I'm nervous, or when I'm over-confident. Please help me see you and trust you and rest in the fact that you're running the show. You've got all I need to find rest for my soul...
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Amen. As I read this today I realized how simple it is to exchange our own yoke's for Christ's. Yet so often, in vane, we carry our own yokes. The second we let this go and find our rest in Him, our entire perspective changes. May I remember daily to choose rest in Him!
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