Come all you weary with your heavy loads
Lay down your burdens find rest for your souls
‘Cause my yoke is easy and my burden is kind
I'll take yours upon me and you can take mine
- Thrice, Come All You Weary
There are a lot of tired people in the world today, maybe you’re one of them. And this isn’t a normal “I got a lot of work done today” tired. This is a “deep in my soul” weariness type of tiredness. These are the times when life feels unfair and the things we want never turn out the way we would like them. The fatigue of life feels all encompassing, and if we are not careful we feel like it could overtake us completely.
At times, it can seem like the rest of world needs you to be this tired; with work commitments, family commitments, sports commitments, volunteer commitments, and all the other little things that seem to eat up the meager hours we have in a day. The idea has crept into our collective heads that if I am not busy it means I’m lazy, so I better tell everyone how busy I am. Some people wear their business like a badge of honor saying, “look at me I’m so busy and therefore important!”
You end up prioritizing the things you must do and are left with no energy to do the things you would like to do. Today I would like to give you one important thing: permission. You have permission to rest. You have permission to lay down one thing that you have been holding onto for too long.
In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says,
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Too often we hold on to our problems with both hands, never asking for help, and trying to hide it from everyone around us. My hope is that you have people around you that you can talk to about your problems. A burden is easier to carry when it is shared. Jesus in Matthew 11 is trying to say that he is that person. He is accepting of our burdens and is only disappointed when we’ve held on to them too long. If we can trust and lay down some of our burdens we can find our much-needed rest.
It’s okay to not be busy.