An Invitation to Rest
An Invitation to Rest
An Invitation to Rest
An Invitation to Rest
We can’t perform our way to contentment or satisfaction. There is a better way to live and work. Jesus is The Way To Work and He is inviting you to rest in Him.
Our best work is not up to us.
Far too often we are tricked by the false narrative that we need to know everything and do everything so that we can control everything.
This incredibly prevalent lie leads us to stress, not rest, and is an addictive, destructive cycle full of overcommitment, perfectionism, and workaholism.
Approaching life and work with a drive for performance and control causes us to become more restless and burdened with worry, ultimately wearing us down until we grow weary in our work and relationships.
We can’t perform our way to contentment or satisfaction.
There is a better way to live and work. Jesus is The Way To Work and He is inviting you to rest in Him as you work.
Moving from busyness to effectiveness is good. But, moving from self-driven productivity to trustful faithfulness is life-giving! Following Jesus leads to rest and assurance grounded in the One who calls you.
Jesus is the One who made us, designed us, and prepared us to do great work. Jesus calls us to restful satisfaction before, during, and after our daily work.
The Invitation
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - [.no-reftag]Matthew 11:28-30[.no-reftag]
The Reality
The performance-driven worker is already yoked to something. Our yoke to our work, or another person, is causing us weariness and a heavy burden that, if we don’t break free, will eventually kill us.
Tim Keller, in his sermon “The Restful Burden,” explains, “Jesus says you're already yoked. You need a new yoke. Whatever you have yoked yourself to, you can't get away from. You're enslaved to it. You're bound to it … And so if you are in the yoke, the other person in the yoke who is pulling and to whom you are looking to deal with that weariness of soul, the thing you're looking to prove yourself; that thing is almost inevitably gonna destroy you, or maybe you'll destroy it too. Because it's almost inevitably an animal that you can't control, it's going to go faster than you. It's going to be stronger than you.
Do you see that? Jesus says we all have this weariness, this weariness of soul. And secondly, he says, we all have something else that we've yoked ourselves to in order to deal with that weariness, in order to deal with that restlessness. In order, in a sense to prove ourselves, and yet it doesn't work. We're more burdened, in fact. In many ways, the very thing we yoke ourselves to, that we most love, will destroy us and we will destroy it.”
Come to Me
Keller points out that Jesus gives us three things that lead to soul-filling, life-giving rest.
“He offers you three things. This is what He says. First of all, He says, come to me … He offers himself, but second He offers himself as the yoke. He offers himself as the burden … This is the heart of Christianity, and He says, you must learn of me. That means there is no coming to Christ without discipleship.
You can't have verse 28 without 29. You can't come to Him and then not put yourself in harness and say, every day, every hour, I have to look next door at my yoke fellow. And I have to look at His gentleness. Now, you know His gentleness means His calmness And I have to look at His humility. I have to look at this incredible poise of soul that He has and I have to learn of Him. But you know, that means listening to Him all the time. It means letting him teach you. It does mean studying your Bible. It does mean examining your life.”
3 Types of Rest to Accept from Jesus
1. Rest from having to know everything so you can prove everything.
The older and wiser we get, we learn how much we don’t know. There is so much freedom in accepting what we don’t know by trusting the One who knows everything.
“Rest is never found in the quest to understand it all. No, rest is found in trusting the One who understands it all and rules it all for his glory and our good.” (Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies)
“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” - [.no-reftag]Psalm 62:5-8[.no-reftag]
[.text-color-blue]Tips to rest from knowing and proving:[.text-color-blue]
- To start a meeting or conversation, freely admit what you don’t know.
- Point to colleagues and friends who know more than you on relevant subjects.
- Realize He has the answer and seek Him ([.no-reftag]John 15:16[.no-reftag]). He loves you perfectly and will give you every answer you need.
2. Rest from having to do everything so that you can control everything.
We have all experienced more rest and peace by taking things off our to-do list. We have all experienced the freedom of not controlling a situation. We must keep freeing ourselves of tasks and the illusion of control.
“The Bible tells you that real peace is found in resting in the wisdom of the One who holds all of your ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’ in his loving hands.” (Tripp, New Morning Mercies)
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” - [.no-reftag]Isaiah 26:3[.no-reftag]
[.text-color-blue]Tips to rest from doing and controlling:[.text-color-blue]
- Make a practice of taking things (even important things) off your list.
- Trust a coworker or friend with something valuable that needs to get done.
- Realize Jesus has done the most important work; “It is finished,” ([.no-reftag]John 19:30[.no-reftag]). So quit signing up for things you need to control.
3. Rest from wearing out our hearts, minds, and bodies, so our souls can find true rest.
Consider the last time you felt the peace of God so clearly that your soul found delightful rest. Put in place a rhythm that continually brings you back to Jesus.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - [.no-reftag]Matthew 11:28-30[.no-reftag]
[.text-color-blue]Tips to rest your soul:[.text-color-blue]
- Take regular breaks from your work, from physical activity, and from mental activity.
- Take at least an hour a day away from your phone, computer, and/or anything that leads you to another work task.
- Practice Sabbath rest; if you are not able to take Sundays off, find 24 hours a week where you do not work. “On the 7th day God rested,” ([.no-reftag]Genesis 2:2[.no-reftag]).
Most of all, consider inviting Jesus into your work day, every day. Find a rhythm of staying connected to Him and remaining in Him (John 15:1-17) by praying; consider His commands, His love for you, and accept the call of joy-filled rest He is always inviting you to.
Resources:
Sermon: "The Restful Burden" |Tim Keller
Article: "The Interdependent Advantage at Work"
Article: "Work — So That Your Joy Is Complete"
Book: A Rule of Life: For Redemptive Entrepreneurs | Praxis
Video: "SABBATH" | The BibleProject
Our best work is not up to us.
Far too often we are tricked by the false narrative that we need to know everything and do everything so that we can control everything.
This incredibly prevalent lie leads us to stress, not rest, and is an addictive, destructive cycle full of overcommitment, perfectionism, and workaholism.
Approaching life and work with a drive for performance and control causes us to become more restless and burdened with worry, ultimately wearing us down until we grow weary in our work and relationships.
We can’t perform our way to contentment or satisfaction.
There is a better way to live and work. Jesus is The Way To Work and He is inviting you to rest in Him as you work.
Moving from busyness to effectiveness is good. But, moving from self-driven productivity to trustful faithfulness is life-giving! Following Jesus leads to rest and assurance grounded in the One who calls you.
Jesus is the One who made us, designed us, and prepared us to do great work. Jesus calls us to restful satisfaction before, during, and after our daily work.
The Invitation
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - [.no-reftag]Matthew 11:28-30[.no-reftag]
The Reality
The performance-driven worker is already yoked to something. Our yoke to our work, or another person, is causing us weariness and a heavy burden that, if we don’t break free, will eventually kill us.
Tim Keller, in his sermon “The Restful Burden,” explains, “Jesus says you're already yoked. You need a new yoke. Whatever you have yoked yourself to, you can't get away from. You're enslaved to it. You're bound to it … And so if you are in the yoke, the other person in the yoke who is pulling and to whom you are looking to deal with that weariness of soul, the thing you're looking to prove yourself; that thing is almost inevitably gonna destroy you, or maybe you'll destroy it too. Because it's almost inevitably an animal that you can't control, it's going to go faster than you. It's going to be stronger than you.
Do you see that? Jesus says we all have this weariness, this weariness of soul. And secondly, he says, we all have something else that we've yoked ourselves to in order to deal with that weariness, in order to deal with that restlessness. In order, in a sense to prove ourselves, and yet it doesn't work. We're more burdened, in fact. In many ways, the very thing we yoke ourselves to, that we most love, will destroy us and we will destroy it.”
Come to Me
Keller points out that Jesus gives us three things that lead to soul-filling, life-giving rest.
“He offers you three things. This is what He says. First of all, He says, come to me … He offers himself, but second He offers himself as the yoke. He offers himself as the burden … This is the heart of Christianity, and He says, you must learn of me. That means there is no coming to Christ without discipleship.
You can't have verse 28 without 29. You can't come to Him and then not put yourself in harness and say, every day, every hour, I have to look next door at my yoke fellow. And I have to look at His gentleness. Now, you know His gentleness means His calmness And I have to look at His humility. I have to look at this incredible poise of soul that He has and I have to learn of Him. But you know, that means listening to Him all the time. It means letting him teach you. It does mean studying your Bible. It does mean examining your life.”
3 Types of Rest to Accept from Jesus
1. Rest from having to know everything so you can prove everything.
The older and wiser we get, we learn how much we don’t know. There is so much freedom in accepting what we don’t know by trusting the One who knows everything.
“Rest is never found in the quest to understand it all. No, rest is found in trusting the One who understands it all and rules it all for his glory and our good.” (Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies)
“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” - [.no-reftag]Psalm 62:5-8[.no-reftag]
[.text-color-blue]Tips to rest from knowing and proving:[.text-color-blue]
- To start a meeting or conversation, freely admit what you don’t know.
- Point to colleagues and friends who know more than you on relevant subjects.
- Realize He has the answer and seek Him ([.no-reftag]John 15:16[.no-reftag]). He loves you perfectly and will give you every answer you need.
2. Rest from having to do everything so that you can control everything.
We have all experienced more rest and peace by taking things off our to-do list. We have all experienced the freedom of not controlling a situation. We must keep freeing ourselves of tasks and the illusion of control.
“The Bible tells you that real peace is found in resting in the wisdom of the One who holds all of your ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’ in his loving hands.” (Tripp, New Morning Mercies)
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” - [.no-reftag]Isaiah 26:3[.no-reftag]
[.text-color-blue]Tips to rest from doing and controlling:[.text-color-blue]
- Make a practice of taking things (even important things) off your list.
- Trust a coworker or friend with something valuable that needs to get done.
- Realize Jesus has done the most important work; “It is finished,” ([.no-reftag]John 19:30[.no-reftag]). So quit signing up for things you need to control.
3. Rest from wearing out our hearts, minds, and bodies, so our souls can find true rest.
Consider the last time you felt the peace of God so clearly that your soul found delightful rest. Put in place a rhythm that continually brings you back to Jesus.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - [.no-reftag]Matthew 11:28-30[.no-reftag]
[.text-color-blue]Tips to rest your soul:[.text-color-blue]
- Take regular breaks from your work, from physical activity, and from mental activity.
- Take at least an hour a day away from your phone, computer, and/or anything that leads you to another work task.
- Practice Sabbath rest; if you are not able to take Sundays off, find 24 hours a week where you do not work. “On the 7th day God rested,” ([.no-reftag]Genesis 2:2[.no-reftag]).
Most of all, consider inviting Jesus into your work day, every day. Find a rhythm of staying connected to Him and remaining in Him (John 15:1-17) by praying; consider His commands, His love for you, and accept the call of joy-filled rest He is always inviting you to.
Resources:
Sermon: "The Restful Burden" |Tim Keller
Article: "The Interdependent Advantage at Work"
Article: "Work — So That Your Joy Is Complete"
Book: A Rule of Life: For Redemptive Entrepreneurs | Praxis
Video: "SABBATH" | The BibleProject