Matthew 11:28-30 Rest For Your Soul

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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." [Matthew 11:28‭-‬30 NASB]

Being a Christian isn't supposed to be hard work. Living a life of righteousness and holiness isn't supposed to be a struggle.

That is not to say we won't face problems in life. In fact, we are virtually guaranteed trials and persecutions on life. Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." [John 15:1-2 NASB] The pruning process is a painful cutting back of the branches.

Peter tells us, "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;" [1 Peter 1:6-7 NASB]

The trials we face help us grow, but they don't define us. As Christians, we are defined by who we are in Christ. Going back to the image of the vine, Jesus said, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." [John 15:4-5 NASB]

As we abide in Christ, we will find rest. Abiding means having a permanent residency. It does not mean visiting occasionally. It does not mean visiting once, twice, or three times a day, but it means dwelling continuously.

Abiding in Christ can also be described as walking in the Spirit. Paul said, "The requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." [Romans 8:4-5 NASB] And again, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." [Galatians 5:16 NASB]

So overcoming the flesh, that is, living a life of holiness, is not accomplished by fighting the flesh, but by walking in the Spirit, or abiding in Christ.

Waling in the Spirit is as easy as setting your mind on Him. This is not a strenuous concentration. You don't need to squeeze closed your eyes or screw up your face, or clench your fist. It is not an effort of willpower because that is of the flesh, and the flesh cannot please God.

If I ask you to think of a tree, you don't need to work to do so. In fact by merely mentioning a tree, it is most likely that you pictured a tree in your mind, without even trying. That is what I am talking about.

Now think about Jesus. Don't put any effort into it, just let it happen. If it helps, say His name aloud. Now practice abiding. Let your thought continuously dwell on Him. If your thoughts stray, that's alright. There's no condemnation. Simply turn your mind back to Him. Keep it up and eventually, it will become a habit. In this way, you will transform your mind.

Remember, Jesus said, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me...and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Jesus does all the work. Through His death on the cross he accomplished our salvation and our sanctification. Any attempt to work for our own sanctification is an insult to His grace. Failing to abide in Him, or any effort on our part to overcome our own flesh by willpower, or adhering to rules, is the same as throwing His yoke off of us and saying, "I can do it better myself."

Through the Holy Spirit, He is abiding in each one of us who call Him Lord. It is He who makes us holy. It is He who overcomes the sin of our flesh. And it is easy, if we abide in Him.