Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Have you ever felt so tired that you wanted to cry? I did. A lot of times. In fact, one sign that I have exhausted myself so much is when I suddenly find myself crying. It’s as though my whole body is telling me something’s wrong, I’m headed towards breakdown, and no matter how busy I may be, I must somehow find time for rest.
What does it mean to be tired?
There are many kinds of tiredness. While we can all tired with physical exhaustion, we know that there are worse kinds that we experience in life.
We can be mentally tired. Tired of thinking and striving to use our intellect to solve the problems at hand.
We can also be emotionally exhausted. Remember when your heart was broken? Or remember when you have lost a loved one? Nothing drains you like grief. There comes a time when you feel as though you could even run out of tears.
Last but not the least is spiritual tiredness. This is where our spiritual battles come in. Our battles with temptation. Our striving to overcome the darkness in our souls.
And then there are times when we’re tired on so many levels we can’t even understand ourselves. All our past efforts suddenly come to mind. All our past defeats become burdens that keep us from hoping things could get any better.
From the depths of our hearts then, we may start to cry, “Lord, please help me. I just feel so tired!”
The invitation to come to Jesus
There comes a point when a gentle voice whispers to us, inviting us to surrender everything to God. Yes, to come to Jesus. Why Jesus? Because the only rest our souls could ever find is in Him.
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” – St. Augustine
In our weariness, we may remember where we have tried to rest. We thought we could solve our problems on our own. We relied upon people who only failed us in the end. We sought various means to help us, but we have only drained our physical and spiritual strength.
Why not try Jesus?
The easy yoke of Christ
Jesus never said we’d have no burdens when we follow Him. But He wanted us to take his yoke, a yoke He knew would be easy for us.
“But can’t we just let go of all burdens?” you may ask. And here is where our problem often starts. We try to be free from every problem. We want to take shortcuts. And in doing so, we just find the longer route. We don’t succeed in dropping every burden, we only carry the heavier ones.
How can a burden be light?
The burden of Jesus is light because it is not made heavy by darkness and sin. It does not come with all of those things that make our lives more miserable like anger, worry, jealousy, envy and other ill feelings that burden our souls.
His burden is light because we are not alone in carrying it. We always have Jesus, the One who carried our sins and paid for all of them at the cross.
In carrying our burdens, He also gives us strength. We can carry it because He makes us capable of carrying them.
What does it mean that we must learn from Jesus?
Jesus said that He is humble and gentle. I think that’s among the first things we can learn from Him.
When we are humble, we do not take on more than the load we need to carry. We don’t carry the weight of pride. We don’t strive for more money or power than we should. We don’t burden ourselves in trying to compete with our neighbors.
On the other hand, to be gentle is a quality we can apply to others and to ourselves. Have you been gentle with yourself? Or have you blamed yourself for many things in life? Have you spoken harsh words to yourself?
It’s the same way in our relationship with others. We need to be gentle to each other, kinder and more understanding. We need to have compassion for each other’s pain. This can make our burdens a lot lighter for all of us.
Our burdens can be wings
The burdens God give us can be weights meant to train us and give us strength. Instead of refusing them, we should welcome them with open arms. One day, these burdens may be the very wings we could use. And instead of being weighed down, we may discover that we are being set free.
Surrender your burdens
Whatever you may be going through right now, surrender it all to Jesus. He knows you and He understands your pain. He knows just how much you have suffered and He wants to give you rest. Will you let Him? Will you trust the One who loves you most?
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, 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.” – Matthew 11:28-30, NRSVCE
I have wondered about this verse for a long time. What kind of rest shall we find in Jesus? And how could we come to Him to lay down our burdens? Now I’ve realized what Jesus meant to say. When He called us to come and rest in Him, we should focus on these three words, “rest in Him.” Rest in Jesus. Not on your own wealth, or glory or pride. Not on your strengths. Not on your plans for the future. Not even on your own goodness. True rest comes when we rest in God alone.
I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings wise and beautiful, but never in either: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden.”
— Augustine
Quote on Resting in God
“Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. . . . Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe.” – Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place
“To saints, their very slumber is a prayer.” – St. John of the Cross
All shall be well, all shall be well… For there is a Force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go. – St. Julian of Norwich
“Be little like a child of love in the arms of your Father. Where you cannot walk, he will carry you.” – St. Francis De Sales
“But pray, my children. God will hear you in a short time. My Son allows Himself to be moved by compassion.”– Our Lady of Hope
When I see that the burden is beyond my strength, I do not consider or analyze it or probe into it, but I run like a child to the Heart of Jesus and say only one word to Him: “You can do all things .” And then I keep silent, because I know that Jesus himself will intervene in the matter, and as for me, instead of tormenting myself, I use that time to love Him. – St. Faustina, Divine Mercy In My Soul (1033)
Bible Quotes on Finding Rest in God
“Be still, and know that I am God! – Psalm 46:10, NRSVCE
“If you return and be quiet, you shall be saved: in silence and in hope shall your strength be.” – Isaiah 30:15 (DRB)
“It is vain for you to rise up early,
to stay up late,
eating the bread of toil,
for he gives sleep to his loved ones.”
-Psalm 127, WEBBE
“My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9, GNT
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.’”
-Psalm 91, WEBBE
“Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.”
– Isaiah 40:30-31, NRSVCE
Poems for those who are weary and need rest
When It’s Night
When life just feels so dreary,
and the world, so dark and sad,
And the load you bear is so heavy,
and you’re just bruised and broken bad.
Take heart and rest awhile,
and if your heart is broken, you can cry.
No one ever said we must always smile,
no one ever said there’d be no night.
For there are times of joy and times of trouble,
there are days when you just feel so tired.
You have tried and tried and tried,
you did all you could with all your might!
Take heart and give yourself some time,
give yourself some space to hide.
No one ever said we must always toil,
no one ever said we must always shine.
This Warrior
This warrior is old and weary
Her heart is bleak and sad
Her feet are bruised and bleeding
Tired of all the places that she trod.
O, where is rest when you need it?
Where is silence when things are bad?
For someone who longs for shelter
It’s enough to sleep beneath the stars.
To sleep and dream of the good old days
To watch the sunrise when you awake
What blessed day when wounds are healed
When hope returns and you forget your fears.
Yet time goes on when rest is over
When you need to hold that sword again
And you fight on for all that you care for
With every ounce of strength that still remains.
When You’re Too Tired To Hope
There are times in your life
when all that you could do is rest.
You cannot love,
you cannot dream,
you don’t know where to start,
and you don’t know where to go.
You want to change your life,
but you’re too weak to move,
you’re too tired to think,
too hurt to heal,
too numb to make amends,
too lost to even hope,
too tired to even pray.
Rest then O heart,
and rest then O soul,
for the journey has been too much for you,
and the world has left you wounded
and alone.
Sleep then for a while,
let go of all your woes.
Lie down in trust,
and let your tears flow down
as they should.
Somebody’s watching,
Somebody’s catching your every tear.
Fear not, for in the quiet of the night
you’re in the arms of Him
who loves you most.
Think not of your worries,
think not of your wounds,
for they shall be healed.
In time shall you find comfort,
and you shall find peace.
O blessed peace,
claim your portion and your strength.
May your soul know what stillness means,
and may the very marrow of your bones
find ease.
Time has come to stop your restless wonderings,
and for all the useless work to cease.
Let God work while you are sleeping,
and in the morning
may you find all things new and sweet.
Sleep Now, My Child
Sleep now my child,
day has passed
and night has come,
come and rest upon my arms.
You have done much,
you gave it your all,
and now it’s time
to walk your way home.
Weep not for your falls
or for things left undone,
Worry not for tomorrow
for it is yet to come.
You have done all you could,
you have done your very best,
It is enough that you trust me,
and I will do the rest.
You are my child,
whether you work or you slumber
I gaze at you and I smile
just because of what you are.
You are mine, all mine
I have borne you in love
and in love I draw you closer
even as you rest upon my arms.
Faith is not about explaining things. It is about living, and breathing and walking in that light that is upon us. But we will suffer in the light. Sometimes our souls will be squeezed to dry down to the very deepest roots. We will wither and grow weary to where we cannot take one step more. The light will fade to the faintest glimmer. Nothing more than a grain of sand upon the shore. But the light will never disappear. This walk of faith comes with a promise. The promise that we will never be abandoned. – Full of Grace Film
