Get Some Rest

By Rick Warren, CP Guest Contributor Thursday, January 19, 2006

“Come to me all you that are weary and heavy burdened and
I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)

In the Bible, people came to Jesus for many different reasons. Some people came for forgiveness. Some came for answers. Others came for healing. Still others came to Jesus for eternal life. But in that verse from Matthew, Jesus says you can come to him for rest. That means release from stress, release from overload.

Jesus goes on in verse 29 to promise, “I will give you rest for your souls.” This is much deeper than physical rest. I would venture to say that your greatest problem is not overloaded muscles. In fact, most of us need to use our muscles more. Most of us are too flabby. Our muscles are not overworked – our minds are. We’re tired mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. You probably need soul rest far more than you need physical rest. You need release from worry, tension, stress, guilt, fear, bitterness, and anxiety. You need soul rest. And that’s exactly what Jesus promises you if you’ll come to him.

Where do you usually turn when you’re overloaded? When you’re exhausted, depleted, and overloaded, who or what do you naturally turn to for relief? You may be a pastor, but I doubt that your first choice is Jesus. You may turn to food when you’re exhausted. You may prop your feet up and turn to television. You may turn to a drink or a pill. But none of these things can give you soul rest. Only God can give you that.

The antidote for your overloaded soul is not a plan for time management. It’s not a program for stress reduction. It’s not a philosophy on how to simplify your life. It’s not a pill. It’s a person. Jesus does not say, “Come to church.” He does not say, “Come to small group.” He does not even say, “Come to the Bible.” He says, “Come to me.” The answer for overload is a person.

This is the exact opposite to what the world teaches. Let me tell you why you get overloaded. It’s because you’re listening too much to the world. The world will tell you to keep busy, to keep running faster and faster. But when you run at that pace you end up doing things you were never shaped to do. God has wired you up with certain Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experiences (S.H.A.P.E.) to make you unique. And when you try to do things that you were never shaped to do, you’re going to get overloaded and stressed out.

The world teaches that when you’re empty inside, you need to do more. If I could just do more then I’ll be at rest and at peace. If I could just have more, then I’ll be at rest and at peace. If I could just be more then I’ll be at rest and peace.

But Jesus said it’s not a matter of do. It’s a matter of come. “Come to me.” There are no other qualifications than that. It’s simply, “Come to Me.”

The first thing you need when you’re overloaded is more time with God. That’s where you’ll find rest. That’s where you’ll find renewed strength. To find this time with God, you must get alone so you’re not distracted and you’re not tempted to pretend or put on a show for other people. Sit before him honestly and start to focus on him. Don’t let anything else intrude on this time. Just sit and focus on Jesus. Before you know it, you’ll begin to sense his grace flowing to you – and with that grace will come peace and strength and rest.

If it’s that easy, why don’t we do this on a regular basis? Why don’t we turn to Jesus more?

There are two answers for that:

1. We think we can handle it all on our own.

2. We too often forget what God is really like. We forget that God is a loving Father; that God cares for us just like a father cares for a small child. God isn’t going to scold you when you come to him for rest. He’s going to love you. If you’ll just come to God like a little child comes to a father, he’ll teach you how to really rest. But you’ve got to turn to him.

Are you exhausted? Do you need rest? Take him at his Word: “Come to me, all you that are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest.”

Until next week,

Rick
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Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and best-known churches. In addition, Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller The Purpose-Driven Life and The Purpose-Driven Church, which was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th Century. He is also founder of Pastors.com, a global Internet community for ministers. Copyright 2005 Pastors.com, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

This article is adapted from the series From Burnout to Balance: Restoring Margin to Overloaded Lives.