Proven Way to Find Rest

By: Carol McClain

@carol_mcclain  


My least favorite scripture for many years was Matthew 11:28-29. It reads, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give your rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

I know. This is a weird scripture to hate, but I had a reason. The church I attended had a hard-nosed philosophy. If anything from God’s word didn’t happen, it was your fault. Anything they believed, you had to believe. Therefore, if I was troubled, I was out of favor with God.

Back then, I was a single mother. As a teacher in my district, the pay was low. Somehow, I had to figure out life alone, how to raise a happy, well-adjusted daughter was my problem alone. Guilt and condemnation and worry dogged me like black flies on a spring day. I knew I displeased God because I found no rest in my faith.

Somehow, God brought me through this time. In it, He taught me a major lesson: if I found no rest, no peace, even in difficult circumstances, then I wasn’t hearing from God. I was hearing only my own self-condemnation. Not what my loving Father wanted in any form.

How to find rest for your soul:

  • Whether you’re a good Christian or not, if you want to be good, if you want to find God and His rest, God will work with you.
  • We are not saved by our works nor do we lose our salvation by our lack of works. It’s grace. Grace lifts the burden.
  • If God requires something difficult from us, He will pour out his grace more abundantly so we can bear it. (1 Cor. 10:13, Rom. 5:20)

Today’s rampaging COVID-19 has all of us stressed out. For some, the disease has ravaged you. Perhaps it has taken the life of someone you love dearly. Despite this, you can find rest. Peace. Trust God’s love. Think of Him as a father who holds his precious child in his arms and strives to soothe her. This is God. He’s a being who wants you to have peace as He leads you to an expected end.

Psalm 4:8 says, “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.”

If you sincerely desire God, you will find rest, even in these times.

 

And, Delia Mae McGuffrey discovers this truth in A New York Yankee on Stinking Creek.

3 Comments

  1. Well said. Thank you for the encouragement. Resting in God’s grace in spite of everything, including ourselves. This message was one my late husband was passionate about.

  2. Cleo Lampos says:

    Well stated. Your view of life mirrors so many of us out there. Yet, you have come through and found God’s grace on the other side. Thank you for reminding me of all of this.

    • Carol McClain says:

      When I get overwhelmed, like in the COVID-19 mess, I think of those who suffered before me. It’s so much easier then to find the grace of God.

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