Give Him Your Weariness - By Kate Brown
Back in the spring, our family went through a season of perpetual exhaustion. It was one thing after another. We dealt with two rounds of strep throat, croup, an adenotonsillectomy, potty training, night terrors, and the usual nighttime wakings from our sweet baby. There was a stretch of a couple months where we were up three or four times a night, bouncing between our four children. During this time, our content director emailed me and asked if I would contribute to this email series on rest. I almost laughed, thinking that if we were standing face to face and she saw my messy hair and the bags and dark circles under my eyes, she might rethink that request. I wasn’t exactly the poster girl for rest!
If I were to ask a group of us to paint a picture of what the word “rest” meant, I’d likely have a variety of scenes. For some, it’s a steaming cup of coffee and a good book in front of a roaring fire while snow falls gently outside. For others, it’s crystal blue water, white sand, and sunkissed skin. For me, it’s lying in the heather in the Yorkshire Dales soaking in the cool air and warm sun in the cloudless sky. I hope to cross this off my bucket list one day!
Regardless of what reverie comes to mind when you think of the word “rest”, many of us find it hard to achieve even a brief break in the midst of the busyness of our daily lives. Whether you are a wife and mother, working your daily 9-5 employment, or serving in various ministries, we all need rest. When life seems to be driven by our daily responsibilities and we’re in a season of life where physical rest is ever elusive, how can we maintain a heart that is at rest?
The idea of rest is woven throughout Scripture, spanning from the seventh day of creation in Genesis 2:1-3 to eternal rest in Revelation 14:12-13, but perhaps one of the most well-quoted passages on this topic occurs in Matthew 11:28-30. Jesus calls, “Come to me, all 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Rest is not found in my beloved Yorkshire Dales, the beach, the couch with a book, or even a day of physical rest from duties and responsibilities. Like everything else that we need as finite creatures, our rest is found in Christ alone. He provides our hearts with what they need most–rest from the wearying load of sin that we are born into. When I am in the “trenches”, like I was this past spring, I often place my hope in the thought of a reprieve. Often I think, I would be much more patient with my family if I could just get a break, or I would spend my time more wisely if only I could sleep through the night. While a break or eight hours of uninterrupted sleep would most definitely benefit me, these are just temporary bandaids on a gaping wound. My biggest problem is my weak and sinful flesh. Hope for my weariness rests in the nail-pierced hands of Jesus.
In his allegorical work Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan beautifully described the rest we find in Christ. As Christian approaches the cross, the burden of sin he has been struggling under rolls off his back and disappears into a grave, never to be seen again. As he stands at the foot of the cross, his burden gone with tears streaming down his face, he says, “He hath given me rest, by His sorrow, and life, by His death.” The cross of Jesus brings us this joyous rest. His sacrifice removes the heavy load of the guilt and shame of sin. Salvation is a free gift that comes as a result of faith–it is not something that we can earn. We don’t need to produce righteousness in and of ourselves–we cannot. If we have repented of our sin and placed our faith in Jesus, God looks at us and sees the righteousness of His beloved Son. Any goodness that comes from our lives is the result of God’s work in us.
Even if you are in a season of little physical rest, let the truth of the gospel bring your heart rest. Lay down your vain striving and toiling to earn God’s love and approval. If you are in Christ, you are justified–you belong to the King of Kings whose faithful love is far deeper than we could ever comprehend. Give Him your weariness, and remember that He understands and knows it. As Matthew Henry writes, “Thus it is the duty and interest of weary and heavy-laden sinners, to come to Jesus Christ. This is the gospel call; Whoever will, let him come. All who thus come will receive rest as Christ’s gift, and obtain peace and comfort in their hearts.”
