Matthew 11:28Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
As Americans all over the nation celebrate Labor Day this week it is important for us all to remember that there is a place where we can get true rest from our labor. That place is Jesus Christ. In this verse Jesus invites whosoever is willing to come to him to come and get rest from their labor. It is interesting to look at this from the spiritual perspective because there are things that affect us physically that actually take place spiritually first.
Always remember that the spiritual dictates to the physical or natural, anything that happens in the natural world has a spiritual connection that is the driving force behind it. Jesus is talking about both physical and spiritual rest from both the spiritual and physical world’s labor. The spiritual world dictates the tempo of our life and is the driving force behind our need for rest. If we are fatigued it is because we often labor for the wrong things too often and when it is even the right things it too comes with a price. Jesus tells in John 6:27“Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”
We as humans and especially in America work extremely hard often for the things that we want from a material perspective, even though we know it is only temporary. There is nothing wrong with hard work and being rewarded for it, but what is the real motive that drives us? Nevertheless, Jesus tells us that there is rest for our labor and it is found in Him.
There are some spiritual things that cause us to fight harder than we have to and this causes us to be fatigued. These things do affect our physical world and many of us will find that if we would just take our refuge and rest in Christ that both spiritually and physically we would not be so exhausted.
To increase the quality of our lives we must NOT:
Worry -This is the biggest waste of time that literally sucks the life out of people. Whether spiritually or physically worry angers God and drains the human. It is a fruitless endeavor that will only diminish the life of the worrier. Jesus himself said in Matthew 6:27 “And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?”(NRSV) Worrying tells God that you do not believe that he can handle your situation and that you have grave concerns about His ability therefore you must constantly beat up on yourself about what you (not God) are going to do about your situation. Take Jesus’ advice rest in Him and stop worrying it accomplishes nothing except taking away precious time out of your life without the possibility of changing it. Spend your time thanking God for God has already done in your life not worrying about what may or may not happen.
Doubt -This drains the human with the constant battle of what if God doesn’t do what I want Him to do? This too is a waste of time that is taxing on the human soul. We cannot control what God does or the way He does it we have two choices to either believe or not to believe, there is no middle ground. If we trust God then we won’t waste countless hours doubting that HE will come through. If we do not trust Him then we will doubt Him, His faithfulness and His ability to come through and this will spiritually and physically take its toll on any human being. Don’t doubt God trust Him and you will find rest in that trust.
Fear -This is the biggest of all spiritual motivated energy zappers. It comes directly from satan and is not pleasing to God. Faith and fear are complete opposites and they become a lifestyle. If you live in faith you cannot live in fear and vice versa. Many people that live in fear are so physically exhausted that they just give up and give in to so many of evil’s ploys that take away from the quality of life that God intended for us to live. Fear takes over every part of your life if you let it, but faith will do the same if you choose to live by it and faith will add to your life not subtract from it. 2 Timothy 1:7 says “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” This means that God did not give us the spirit of fear it came from that which opposes God and that is evil. Live in faith and not fear and you will find not only rest but peace.
If you are tired there is a place where you can go to get rest for your soul, your life and your body and mind and that place is the Word of God. The Word of God is: God’s voice, The Holy Bible and Jesus Christ (who was called the Word of God).
As Americans all over the nation celebrate Labor Day this week it is important for us all to remember that there is a place where we can get true rest from our labor. That place is Jesus Christ. In this verse Jesus invites whosoever is willing to come to him to come and get rest from their labor. It is interesting to look at this from the spiritual perspective because there are things that affect us physically that actually take place spiritually first.