Isaiah 53:4 contains a beautifully mysterious phrase. Jesus carried our sorrows.

What an amazing thought! The very idea of “sorrows” invokes feelings of things that are weighty and burdensome. To know that there is One who will carry those things which are too heavy for me is a thought which comforts  and encourages my soul.

Life is made of cycles and seasons, and you don’t have to live long to figure out that some of those are filled with sorrows and pain.  When my life is filled with sorrows, I cry out for relief, longing to escape the place where my heart is torn apart. And Jesus answers. Sometimes his answer contain immediate rescue, but many times His answer carries this idea, “I will carry the sorrows for you.”

He always wants to carry our burdens, but we usually try to handle life in our own ways, carrying things in what we believe to be our own strength. The problem with that is, well, we don’t really have any strength! It is an illusion. Nothing reveals our lack of strength any more than sorrow and pain.  When life becomes unbearable, then we are either driven to the feet of Jesus to ask for help or we are moved to reject him because we misunderstand his heart.

When life becomes too heavy for me, sometimes I find the best prayer is simply, “Carry this Lord for I can’t!” It is a prayer of surrender. Such a prayer places us in a position to receive his strength. It is a difficult place to stay in. As soon as the pain begins to lift, I try to begin to carry it again without his help and I fall under the weight of it. Graciously, he takes it again as I surrender anew.

And I have found that in these seasons, I have the opportunity to learn more about the heart of Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 11: 28, Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Yes, give, as in a gift. He goes on to invite us to take his yoke in order to learn from him. A yoke, as Jesus referred to, is an instrument which joins two animals together so they can work together, so that more is accomplished, so that one doesn’t pull one way and the other another way.

Work and rest are not opposites. Jesus spoke of “rest for your soul”.  Inner rest. Living in this kind of rest allows us to work from a place of relationship with Jesus as opposed to a place of rules. So it might be good to ask yourself if your life with Jesus is focused on having relationship with him or following a list of rules.

If your heart is hungry for rest, here are a few principles from this passage that can help you find that rest:

1.  Go. We must go to Jesus. The first thing Jesus said was, “Come”. In order to receive his rest, our hearts must turn toward him.  For me, this means that I stop long enough to focus myself on Christ in me. I “center” myself on Christ. A daily time of purposefully shutting down all the other streams of thoughts that are racing around in my brain and “quieting” myself.  In the quietness, I surrender anew to his voice and assume a position of dependence upon him.

2.  Receive. I receive. Jesus said that he would give us rest. A gift must be received. If I am offering you a gift, you must take it into your hands, open the wrapping, and receive it as your own. Sometimes I find it helpful to actually turn my hands face up as if I were readying to have something placed in them and say, “Lord, I receive.”

3.  Take. I take his yoke. You may say, “Wait a minute. I thought you said receive. How can we receive and take at the same time?” If you can envision two oxen being yoked together, a part of that process is when someone places the yoke onto them. For me, this implies that I allow his yoke to be placed upon me. When I willingly do this, I am acknowledging that I will be working with Jesus, not demanding my own direction. I take his yoke.

4.  Learn. Learn from him. When our hearts are in a position of rest, we are in a position to learn from Jesus. We are in a position to receive. He is the only one who can truly carry our sorrows and give us peace and wisdom.

5.  Trust. Trust his heart. Jesus said he was gentle and humble in heart. He is not out to hurt us. He is a safe place. Being vulnerable with Jesus is safe.

6.  Find.  Jesus said we would find rest for our souls. Deep inner rest that abides regardless of our circumstances. These steps, and they are really not steps, they are really relational guidelines for walking with God, can help you find his rest.

7.  Keep Trusting. Don’t be afraid of the process because Jesus reassures us that his yoke is an easy one and his burdens are light to carry. He doesn’t weigh us down with law that discourages us and defeats us. He shows us how to live from a position of rest which is encouraging and life-giving.

So today if you find yourself in a place where your soul needs rest, Jesus invites you to come to him. He wants to give you what you cannot find without him. Bow your heart to him and humbly acknowledge that you are in need and then he will fill you with unexplainable rest that will allow you to walk with him through whatever is facing you. The process will teach you more about his heart and allow you to receive more and more of his love.

In this busy world in which we live, Jesus offers a beautiful gift – rest. In Matthew 11:28-30, we find these words of Jesus:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (NKJV)

I also want to include that section of Scripture from The Message:

 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly."  (The Message)

We all long for true rest, the kind that Adam and Eve had before their fall when they walked and talked with God easily and did the work that He directed them to do.  Notice what Jesus said about true rest:

·         If we want true rest, we must come to Jesus.

·         His offer is for all who are tired, worn out, and burned out.

·         Rest is a gift from Jesus.

·         Rest and work are not opposites. Jesus invited us to take a yoke which is an instrument used to harness an animal’s strength so it can be purposefully used for work.

·         True rest is when we have rest in our souls. This rest comes from the deepest part of us and affects our mind, will, and emotions.

·         Jesus is gentle and humble in heart. Again, notice this place of rest is a place of living from your heart.

·         Jesus yoke is useful, gracious, not pressing or hard. 

I love the way Eugene Peterson paraphrased this verse. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

Today my prayer is that we all learn to live in the unforced rhythms of the grace of Jesus. That is the place of true rest and satisfies our soul as nothing else can.