Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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."
People have no rest in their hearts not because of their circumstance, but because they have departed from God, and the relationship with the Lord who created us and given us meaning to life has been severed. We often try to think of our own ways, live our own lives and walk our own path, but in reality our relationships are often broken because we want to do things our own way. The outcome from such self-centeredness is the result of sin, and we lose our rest because we're suffering the result of sin.
The Lord said that if anyone is in such circumstance, they can go to Him and He will give us rest. This rest is the rest from our repentance and assurance in our hearts. Rest doesn't come out from change in our circumstance or finding a refuge for us to hide, but rather it's from an assurance from deep down our hearts. We truly believe that in Christ our sins can be forgiven. Our God is God of Emmanuelle; the rest in Him doesn't mean that we don't have to do anything, and we might even have to do more than before. It's actually faith and assurance, and also a confirmation of knowing that we belong to God. God is working and also guiding us; even if we go through the valley of shadow of death, we should not fear because we know that our Lord is with us. Even if we will leave this world, we should not fear because we know that He will take us to heaven to be with Him forever.
There might not be obvious differences on the outside between Christians and non-Christians. Non-Christians will encounter hardship and dead just like the Christians will. The only difference is that Christians have the presence of the Lord inside. The world and everything in the world will eventually pass away, so the question is how will you live your life? You may live your life in hardship and sorrow, or you may live your life with the Lord's presence, with peace and joy inside us forever. This is the choice before us, as Jesus said "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Are you willing to bring your worries and burden before the Lord?
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