Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you.  Let me teach you, because  I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light."  (St. Matthew 11:28=30. NLT)

      Have you ever been really tired from over-working, laid down in bed and couldn't sleep or even get rest?  Maybe you've been in so much emotional  pain or worry that rest did not come.  That is not a good place to be because the longer there is no rest, physical problems surface (i.e. headaches, irritability, brain function slows, illness and so on.  Everyone needs and wants rest.  This need is not just in a physical sense, but also is true in the soul and spiritual realms.  God knew we would become weary and heavy burdened at times, so He provided a remedy.  If only we would learn to go to God in prayer for strength, comfort and guidance in and through all things.

      In the Scripture above, God's yoke is His Word, which we are to learn and apply to our lives daily.  God wants us to come to Him; not once but all of the time.  But, we say things like,  "I don't have the time" and "I can handle it".   However, there is rest for our our spirits, minds, emotions and our bodies.  Trying to carry life's burdens on our own is intensely difficult and problematic.  The ways of the world and carnal ways of "dealing" only camouflages the pain momentarily, making burdens more draining over time.

      Isaiah 57:20 speaks of the wicked being as a troubled sea that cannot rest.  God said there is no peace for the wicked.  Sin can cause life to be a heavy burden.  God knows and sees and is only waiting on the sinner to come to Him to repent and turn his life over to Him.  David petitions the Lord in Psalm 38 asking God not to rebuke or discipline him in His wrath.  David goes on to describe his condition, stating his whole body was sick and his health was broken because of his sin.  His guilt had over-whelmed him like a burden too heavy to bear.  Sin had literally exhausted and crushed his heart.  Verses 17-18 says, "I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain.  But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done."  After laying it all out before God, David ends with verses 21-21, "Do not abandon me, O Lord. Do not stand at a distance, my God.  Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior."  And in Psalm 116:7  he says, "Let my soul be at rest again..."  God dealt bountifully with   David.  Then he realized that he must walk in the Lord's presence as he lives on earth. Praise God because he can return us to a state of well-being!

      Sometimes, we believe we have the power to do supernatural fetes for extended amounts of time without proper rest.  Women tend to go above and beyond because of the caring nature God put gave.  Man or female, none of us are God.  There is no way we can be all things for all people.  Besides, God even rested on the seventh day from all of His works after the Creation.  There is definitely a rest for God's people.  Read Hebrews 4:3-4.  This earthly body is not made to last forever.  It is susceptible to natural laws to live (i.e food, water, sleep, etcetera).  According to the Word of God, the earthly man perishes every day.  The body gets sick, hurt and eventually dies.  Also, in time, the mortal will become immortal.  Consequently, the final rest is in heaven for all believers of Christ.  John prophesizes in Revelation 14:13,  "Then I heard a voice from heaven say, Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.  Yes, says the Spirit, they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."

      Long-term illness can also become a burden.  No one can really understand (except God) unless they have had to live with or through it.  There are times that day in and day out sickness/pain can become too much to bear.  David said in Psalm 55:6 "Oh, that I had wings like a dove!  I would fly away, and be at rest."  There are times when we don't even know what to pray.  Therefore, the Spirit of God helps our infirmaities.  God searches the heart and knows the mind of the Spirit.  He can rightly make intercession for the saints according to the will of God.  Jesus told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is mad perfect in weakness."  During times of infirmity, the power of the Spirit can rest upon us giving us strength to go on.

      I've just presented a couple of scenarios that can become burdensome.  Although, there are countless more;  financial problems, relationship problems, jobs and tragedies just to name a few. The fact is that no matter why we become burdened, Jesus Christ is the answer.  Even in the midst of turmoil, the burden can be made light in Christ. That's why Jesus said we could take His yoke upon us. 

      "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank hi for all he has done, Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus"  ( Philippians 4:6-7)  Hallelujah!   Read, study and meditate in the Bible.  Take God's Word to heart with action.  Establish a real relationship with God through Christ Jesus.  Change old ways of thinking and looking at situations and circumstances.  Lighten up.  Learn to be content.  Laugh, no matter where you are in life.  Proverbs 17:22a lets us know, "A cheerful heart is good medicine..."  Life is to hard to live burdened down.  Ask yourself, "Is my way of handling life's problems working for me?"  If not, decide today to make your load lighter God's way.   Then, rest in the LORD.