May 27 I Saturday

2 Chronicles 1-3

John 10:1-23

“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.”   —Matthew 11:28-29

The famous Renaissance artist, sculptor, poet, architect, engineer, scientist and philosopher Leonardo da Vinci once wrote, “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer, since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power of judgment. Go some distance away, because then the work appears smaller, and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.” Given how much da Vinci accomplished in his lifetime, he must have been a man who practiced what he preached.

       Many of us are trapped with a mindset that the work is never finished, so we must continue to work, work and work. Yet, da Vinci’s quote reminds us that it is good to take time away from work to rest, because it gives us a right perspective when we return.

       How do we find this rest? Some may imagine “rest” as lounging around by a pool all day. But rest is not doing nothing. Rest is better described as sitting behind the wheel of a car as it goes down the freeway at 100km/hr, remaining alert and disciplined with hands on the wheel but resting in an engine under the hood that is totally sufficient to get us to the destination. Who is the engine in our life that we can rest in? Psalm 62:5 tells us, “Yes, my soul, find rest in God....”

       The classic chapter on rest in the New Testament, Hebrews 4:9-11 says, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest....” Those who enter God’s rest find rest from their own work because it is now His work and because we are now yoked to Someone who is strong.

       Jesus tells us, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me...” (Matthew 11:29). When we take on the yoke of Christ, we submit to Him. As He teaches, instructs and directs us, we learn obedience. We cannot separate obedience to Him from dependence on Him. Both encompass the verse: “Take my yoke”—dependence on Him; “learn from Me”—obedience to Him. As the old hymn reminds us of this timeless truth,

My Saviour, Thou hast offered rest:

Oh, give it then to me;

The rest of ceasing from myself,

To find my all in Thee.

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for the right perspective on work, where I depend on You and learn obedience from You. I gladly take Your yoke upon myself.