HOPE FOR RESTFUL LABOUR

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST” – Matthew 11:28

God’s Word offers as many as believe, HOPE for RESTFUL LABOUR: “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” (Mt.11:28-29). There is RESTFUL or REWARDED Labour and there is FUTILE or VAIN Labour. Psalm 127:1 refers to the latter: “Unless the Lord builds the house, they LABOR IN VAIN who build it...” For those who are tired of struggling, Jesus presents the offer of Restful Labour. This is an invitation to step into a life led by Jesus, in which He promises rest for weary and burdened souls, relating to all spheres of life.

Rest seems right. But the problem is, human beings don’t often accept this rest: “Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will FIND REST for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it” (Jer.6:16). We live in a world that promotes hustle. There is always another project to tackle, another item on our to-do lists, another goal to reach. We often idolize productiveness and mask weariness. We compare our schedules to others to see who is “doing more.” This is VAIN STRIVING – a constant struggle to reach farther, do more, and break records. We pour all of our resources to the “doing” and are left EMPTY! We pull from our own limited resources rather than Jesus’ unlimited supply of life; walking in opposite direction of His path to rest.

Weariness of the soul is deeper than physical tiredness; it is often felt before it is seen! Jesus points us to His path of rest, but it’s our choice to walk in it. The nature of human ego is to want to vainly prove its prowess to bear beyond its capacity. This may be physically tolerable, but could be fatal in matters of the soul! We need to ask: “Am I carrying too much?” It’s easy to say: “I can handle all this on my own. I can carry the weight of my sin, my pain; my to do list. Yes, it hurts. I should ask for help, but I can do this”! As regards redemption, the Call to Rest means that the path to God is not one of crushing self-effort (Eph.2:8-9). There is no striving in Jesus. He has finished all the work that needs to be done. All He asks is that we come to Him and let Him do the work He so desires to do in our hearts.

Christ’s Promise of REST to the weary labourer is still valid and tenable in our post-modern era! Rest is essential for us in many ways. Without rest – and more specifically sleep – our mind and body are unable to function the way they were designed. We become unhealthy as our systems go into chaos attempting to simply survive. The same goes for the Rest that Jesus provides: without it we begin to lean on ourselves and away from Him, driving our souls, minds and bodies to exhaustion. However, resting in Jesus is more than just a physical halt from activity and busy-ness. It is a spiritual virtue we are called to tap into at all times; allowing Him to pour into us and work through us at all times. It is laying everything down at His Feet and trusting that He will and has already done the work; all we need to offer is our obedience.

It’s important that we learn to lean into Jesus’ arms and trust that we are held by Him. In Christ, there’s Hope for the Restful Labour: spiritually, emotionally, and physically. In Christ, our Labour is never in vain, but always rewarded: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your LABOR is not in vain in the Lord” (1Cor.15:58).