Read first: Matthew 11 // Psalm 62
Last year around this time, I had just started working full time at Hosanna Revival, I was leading Young Life, was essentially a creative director and worship team member at my church and had a couple of large creative assignments happening outside of work as well. I had recently graduated college in the spring and was attempting to navigate this seemingly formless phase of life. I wanted to flip everything upside down, start afresh and carry as many things as I could. I said yes to anything that was put in front of me. In the middle of all of this, I was seeking rest but it always seemed just out of reach. I felt the weight of all of these things I was carrying start to affect my physical body (my eyes twitched for about three months). There were so many red flags being waved high but I chose to ignore them. In The Message version, Matthew 11:28-30 says this, “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.” To learn and know the unforced rhythms of grace, I think, means knowing that this journey we are on is worth it. To walk with Jesus means we can take His yoke, that He will help us carry our heavy things. Jesus also tells us that He won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on us. I find so much comfort in knowing that Jesus already knows what will fit me. That it won’t feel heavy or disproportionate. That He knows my metaphorical size and shape so exactly, that there’s no need for a tailor. I know God is a gentle and graceful God—He will not put me in an itchy wool sweater in the dead of summer just to “teach” me something valuable. He knows how to dress us correctly in every season, equipped with garments that protect and sustain. He is gentle and kind, with unforced rhythms of grace. We are called to live freely and lightly.
We’ve been walking for a while. Our feet ache with the longing for home. Our heads feel heavy and our hearts laden with things to hold on the way, unsure of when we will sit down to physically rest again. Now we know that our homes and our hearts are in Jesus alone, our truest rest is found in Him but we keep moving forward. Here we meet the tension of having a far greater home but not being there yet. We have roots but we’re also nomadic. In Him we have the capacity to rest, yet our bodies keep moving forward, tethered to time. As disciples, we will always be moving and growing and changing and evolving. The song “Come to Me” by Rain for Roots and Sandra McCracken really capture this. It’s a simple, repetitive song that says, “Come to me/ I have all you need/ learn to rest even while you are awake.” Learn to rest even while you are awake. I love this line because it speaks to this paradox we’ve been trailing all—that even though we are not home yet, we still have a place to rest. And that place is Christ’s assurance for us, His death and resurrection on the cross so we could live freely and lightly. The Lord bestows favor and honor on us. May we ask Him today for His loveliness to fall on us, that he would be gentle and kind and sustain us although our bodies are weary and wearing.
Come to me
Walk with me
Learn the rhythms of my grace
Come to me
I have all you need
Learn to rest even while you are awake
Are you tired?
Are you worried?
Worn out from the day?
Have you been in a hurry?
I will slow the pace.
 |