Rest for the Soul: 8 Days With JesusSample

Day 8 – “Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly”

Jesus concludes with a transforming promise: if we remain close to him, we’ll learn to live free and light. The key to the Christian life isn’t isolated self-discipline or sheer willpower, but nearness to Christ. He invites us not to a religion of rules but to a living relationship.

“Remain in me, as I also remain in you… If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4–5, NIV). Rest, freedom, and fullness don’t come from trying harder but from abiding in him.

Staying close means daily intimacy—prayer, meditation on the Word, and living in dependence on the Spirit. And it’s the Spirit who brings freedom: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17, NIV). Freedom isn’t doing whatever I want; it’s living in Christ’s power to become who I was created to be.

Much of our heaviness comes from trying to control everything: outcomes, people, the future. True lightness emerges as we surrender control to the Lord. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1, NIV). The Christian life isn’t a new form of bondage but the experience of being led by grace.

Staying near Jesus also means learning from him how to face life. When we drift, fear, anxiety, and sin weigh us down. In his nearness, we discover a rest that changes how we walk through trials. Free and light doesn’t mean problem-free; it means Christ is our strength in the midst of them.

Jesus isn’t after disciples crushed by religious loads or weary from pretending to live perfect lives. He wants children who learn to live in the joy of his grace—walking at his side, trusting that his presence is enough. Discipleship is less about doing more and more about being with him.

Today, the invitation is clear: stay close to Jesus. Don’t sprint off in your own direction or carry what doesn’t belong to you. Near him, you’ll find freedom from sin, from the need to please everyone, and from fear of the future. Close to him, you’ll learn to live as you were designed—free and light.

Reflection Questions

• What does it mean for me to remain close to Jesus in daily life?
• From which yokes or weights do I need freedom in order to live more lightly in Christ?
• What practical step can I take this week to strengthen my nearness to him?

Thank you for joining me in this devotional plan. I pray that each reading has strengthened your faith and reminded you that in Jesus we find true fullness. If it was a blessing to your life, share it with someone else.

Also visit www.martepodcast.com, where you’ll find more biblical resources for your spiritual growth.

Blessings in Christ,

Felipe Echeverri