Finding Rest in Jesus Christ | Resting in God Women's Bible Study

Did you know that rest is an invitation from Jesus, which means it’s not something we have to work to earn, but a gift to be received? The problem is many Christian women don’t know how to accept this rest. If you're burnt out or tired and weary, keep watching because in today's video, you’ll learn two important steps to take to let go of unnecessary baggage and receive the gift of God’s rest today. Enjoy!

Most travelers know that when you have a long journey ahead, you want to pack light. But this isn’t always easy, is it? If you’re leaving the comfort of your home, you want to ensure you have everything you need and maybe more. Apart from the necessities of clothes and toiletries, you may be tempted to pack your favorite blanket, a few more socks, and let’s not forget any extra electronics just in case. We find comfort in having more than we may need until our actual journey begins and that also means more weight we have to carry and more load we have to endure. The result of all this is extra baggage: fatigue, weariness and burnout.

In a day and age where most women will tell you that they are tired, I’m guessing it all doesn’t have to do with not getting enough sleep, but even more with carrying too much baggage. It’s not only in the physical sense.

- Mentally, we fear the future and overthink things we desire to control but can’t.

- Emotionally, we suppress our feelings, holding on to hurt and trauma that God desperately wants to heal if we’d give our whole hearts to Him.

- Spiritually, we strive and try harder thinking we can work our way to getting “right” with God.”

In all of this overthinking and controlling and striving, we are not any better, we’re just more exhausted.

But Jesus offers us a new way of life that doesn’t leave us empty. An invitation to put our bags down, catch our breath, and allow Him to heal all the weary areas of our soul.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says:

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV)

When you read Matthew 11, you’ll see that Jesus has called sinners into repentance. He notes that there are many who have seen His works and miracles and still choose not to believe in Him. Although many did not receive Jesus, He thanks God the Father that access to the Kingdom can be understood and received even by little children. He then presents an interesting invitation. He calls all those who are weary and tired to come to Him to receive rest. Now Jesus is not talking about a physical rest, but rest for our souls. You know, that type of rest we need when we’re still tired when we wake up and nothing seems to satisfy? Often we are weary because we’re using physical means to restore a spiritual void that only Jesus can fill and that is a fatigue you can’t fix on your own. 

When Jesus says “come to me,” He’s giving us an invitation to rest. This means rest is not something we earn or work for, it can only be given by God and received by us. Instead, however, we think we need to work until we’re tired or finished and then we deserve rest. But rest is not something you deserve, it’s something you receive, and we only receive soul rest from Jesus. Jesus said come to “Me.” Not yourself or soon else. One of the greatest challenges to finding rest in Christ is that we’re looking for it everywhere, but in Christ. Mainly we’re looking for it in ourselves. What we can do, what we can achieve, what we can figure out all apart from God and all we’re doing is adding more baggage to an already heavy load. 

It’s our self sufficiency, our need to control, our unwillingness to surrender and obey is what really is weighing us down. But Jesus is saying, give me what you’re carrying, so you can finally rest.

Jesus calls all to Him, not just a select few, so if you’re thinking, no I can’t give this up, I can’t stop, it’s too much to let go because you’re afraid that packing light may mean you end up with not enough, you’re mistaken. If Jesus could hold the weight of our sin to give us victory over death, trust me whatever is burdening you today, He can carry.

Now that we know rest is not earned, but an invitation from Jesus the question remains, how do we receive this gift? In today’s scripture, Jesus gives us two important steps to take:

First, Jesus tells us to take on His yoke and understanding what this means is key to being able to receive His rest because while some burdens are those we’ve picked up ourselves, other times, we are tired because we’re dealing with burdens others have placed on us. 

Jesus was adamant about calling out and countering the false teaching and harsh religious practices of religious leaders at the time. In Matthew 23:4, Jesus compared the strict religious expectations leaders required of people to placing a heavy burden on one’s shoulders. The religious leaders required hundreds of laws to be met to be able to have a relationship with God, a standard that no matter how hard one worked could never be met, not even the religious leaders themselves.

A lot of us are tired because the work we’re doing doesn’t give the results we desire, so what do we do? We work harder and do more. It’s like drinking salt water when you’re thirsty. It’s only going to make you more thirsty. 

In our generation, heavy loads have also been placed on us. 

- Social media can carry a heavy burden that our lives need to look perfect in order to be accepted.

- Society places a heavy burden on us that you need to hustle, strive, and compete to be successful.

- The world places a heavy burden on us that pleasing people is the sole way to a peaceful life.

- The enemy's lies place a heavy burden on us that if we do everything we can to control everything, when that’s just not true.

- Fear places a heavy burden on us to stay stuck in self preservation, to keep things the same, if we want to stay safe.

When we take these burdens on, they weigh us down and instead of giving us rest and peace and satisfaction, they only require more work, stress, and compromise. When we’re trying to find rest outside of Christ, it’s only going to make us more tired. 

Taking on the yoke of Jesus means taking on His way of establishing a relationship with God and living as He did which is through repentance and surrender. Instead of putting more on our shoulders, it’s releasing, it’s letting go, it turning from. Jesus’ yoke is light and easy because when we repent and surrender, He’s the One forgiving, and restoring, fixing it, and dying for our sins. He’s the One doing all the heavy lifting. Jesus fulfilled all the law and carried the burden of our sin so we don’t have to. In short, to receive God’s rest, we need to stop doing life our way, or the way expected of us from others and do life Jesus’ way. 

How do we do that? Second, Jesus tells us to learn from Him. We struggle with busyness, overwhelm, anxiety, and restlessness, but Jesus was good at rest. When we look at His life, He did a lot of work, but He also exemplified what it looks like to rest a lot. Through His ministry outlined in the Gospels, we read Jesus often went off to quiet, desolate places to pray. He’s showing us that resting doesn’t only mean taking a nap, but connecting to the Father. The best way to rest your soul is to spend time with God. When we’re spending time in prayer, worship or Bible study and reading, our soul finds rest because we’re reminded we don’t have to do it all on our own. It’s in God’s presence where we find the spiritual restoration we need to fill our souls back up. I get that we’re all super busy, but I’ve learned the less time you have for God, the more time you need with God. 

So I encourage you today to take a moment to pause and set your mind on God. Surrender your plans and expectations and let Him lead you to the precious gift of rest.

We can’t afford to ignore our need to spend time in God’s presence if we want to receive His gift of rest, so I invite you to watch this video where I share practical tips on how to make time for God when life is busy. 

For more encouragement, download my free Bible Study, “Worry-Free,” to learn the 3 lies feeding your worry and the truth to set you free at belovedwomen.org. Thanks for watching, and until next time, be beautiful, be blessed, and beloved.

BIBLE STUDY QUESTIONS:

Reading: Matthew 11:25-30

Key Verse: 

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 ESV)

READ: Who does Jesus offer His rest to and that does Jesus say is required to receive His rest?

REFLECT: How is Jesus’ rest different from other types of rest?

RESPOND: What steps can we take to receive the gift of rest Jesus offers?

REQUEST: Pray for a surrendered heart ready to release anything weighing you down and courage to create space to receive soul rest from Christ. 

REFERENCES

[https://www.gotquestions.org/yoke-easy-burden-light.html](https://www.gotquestions.org/yoke-easy-burden-light.html)

Guzik, D. (6/2022). Study Guide for Matthew 11 by David Guzik. Retrieved from [https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/matthew/matthew-11.cfm](https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/matthew/matthew-11.cfm)