Sis, Just RestSample

SIS, REST FROM WEARINESS

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says, "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your soul with salvation]. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me [following me as my disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal blessed quiet) for your souls. For my yoke is easy [to bear] and my burden is light."

I want to zone in on the Amplified Version that says, "Come to me, all who are weary and heavy burdened by religious rituals that provide no peace." That stuck out to me because religious rituals and works of the flesh do not provide peace. They provide toil, stress, fears, anxieties, worries, disappointments, and on and on it goes. We may get fulfilled for a moment by those works, but they do not provide rest, restoration, salvation, or another word for that: Sozo.

When we come to Christ, he's saying everything we need is in him. We don't have to toil with all these fleshly works. There are works of faith, but works of the flesh wear us out, exhaust us to no end, do not satisfy us, do not fulfill us, and do not provide a place of restoration. It takes faith to walk away from that mindset because it's a mindset.

If you can relate to my experience, where works of the flesh defined your way of life, then you probably understand how it feels to achieve temporary success that initially feels great. However, after a week or two, sometimes even immediately, you may start feeling numb or craving for more, setting higher goals that you could never truly attain.

But in Christ, he is our Sozo. We are healed, completely restored, delivered, and refreshed, and it's never-ending. It's a forever fountain of everything we need in Christ.