The Great Exchange {Matthew 11}

  Matthew 11

There is a weariness that requires more than eight hours of sleep each night. The rest Jesus is speaking about here is a spiritual rest. Since the seventh day of creation, God has demonstrated our need for rest, but many haven't heeded His invitation. It was rest that He promised His children in the wilderness, but "They failed to enter that rest because of their disobedience" (Hebrews 3:19). 

We see in the verses prior to Matthew 11:28, Jesus is rebuking the different towns which have refused to follow Him in spite of the many miracles He has already preformed in them (Mt. 11:20-24). God longs for His children to enter His rest. How about you?

I'm sure you thought, "Of course!", but do your recent actions convey that same sentiment? Remember, Israel refused even after wandering in the dessert!

We have a God who loves us so much that He desires to take our burdens off our own shoulders, place them on His, and give us His peace in return. I call that a great exchange; my burdens for His peace, but I've discovered in the past that I haven't always made the exchange so quickly. 

Do you feel buried under the burdens of this world? Stressed? Anxious? Is your heart at peace, or are you bombarded by worrisome thoughts? God is offering you HIS peace today if you will take some time to be “yoke” to Him and His teaching.

His ways are different from the world’s ideas. The world tells us we can only have peace when we’ve completed the job, life is settled, or we've gained the approval of man. God tells us over and over in His word to stop working in our own strength, yoke ourselves to His teaching, and get rid of all the stress and pressure of the world. “casting all your anxieties on him, because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) You have a God who cares about you!

He wants us to, "be still (let be, cease from striving), and know (recognize and understand) that I am God." (Psalm 46:10) He is able. Not even our best efforts can come close to all HE can do through us!

David knew this when he wrote Psalm 23, 

 The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. He makes me lie down in [fresh] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters. He refreshes and restores my life (my soul); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him—not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake. Yes, though I walk through the [deep, sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I will fear or dread no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort me.
In the most stressful time of my life. " - Psalm 23:1-4

During one of the most stressful times in my life, The Lord would wake me at around 2am each morning with the words, "Come away with Me, My beloved" taken from Song of Solomon. This passage speaks of springtime, and new life!

Song of Solomon 2:10-13

 My beloved speaks and says to me:

‘Arise, my love, my fair one,

   and come away;

 for now the winter is past,

   the rain is over and gone.

 The flowers appear on the earth;

   the time of singing has come,

and the voice of the turtle-dove

   is heard in our land.

 The fig tree puts forth its figs,

   and the vines are in blossom;

   they give forth fragrance.

Arise, my love, my fair one,

   and come away.

I did not hear these words spoken audibly, mind you, but they would come as a thought, and I would climb out bed, grab my Bible and journal and meet with Him out in my favorite chair in the living room. We'd read the Psalms and I shared all my concerns and questions, and He'd reassure me each time, and then I'd go off to sleep again until morning. We'd sometimes spend up to two hours in that chair, but I always woke refreshed and ready for the day, as if I'd slept for eight hours straight!

If you'd like to, or need to make a great exchange, here are three steps that should help:

1. Think about your life for a moment. In what areas do you need God’s peace today? 

2. Tell Him. Offer that area of your life to God and ask Him for His advice, (Js 1:56) Listen as you read His Word and keep listening throughout the day. 

3. Surrender yourself to Him; your thoughts, ideas, actions and invite Him to come take over.

 And remember He desires for you to enter His rest just as much, if not more, than you do!

Blessings, 

sue