Week 1 Devotional

²⁸ Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

“God knows that your eyes will be opened…and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” (Gen. 3:5)

“And you will be like God.”

Self-sufficient, self-reliant, self-taught.

This doesn’t sound like that bad of a deal.

Until we try to actually live it out.

We’ve all experienced very real and legitimate physical, medical, mental, emotional, financial, circumstantial, or stage-of-life limitations that collide with this idealistic way of viewing ourselves. “You can be anything!” “You can do anything!” “You have what it takes!” “You can have it all!” “You can be like God???” Hard expectation for creatures who are not omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. Like God…

And it seems that even though in the depths of our hearts, we get this, in order to deal with the resulting frustration, confusion, and stress we experience from not truly being able to be God, our human brains still, somehow keep transposing the tune of “you can” up to “you should,” creating even more stress and pressure.

Our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies are restless.

So how do we break free from the cycle of trying to be like God in order to handle the stress and problems that come from working so hard to be Him? Is there a way to once again live as the first humans did before they fell for this lie? At peace? At rest?

Before Genesis 3:5 we see Adam and Eve walking and talking with God (what we now call prayer). They enjoyed an unhindered relationship with Him where they felt absolutely assured they could trust His “insider” knowledge, wisdom, and insights into how He designed His creation to function best. They knew they could depend on His omnipotence (unlimited power), omniscience (knowledge of everything), and omnipresence (ability to be everywhere at all times) to offer guidance and structure for their creative minds, imagination, gifts, and abilities that He gave them. Because the lines between God’s role and humanity’s in the process of “doing the good things He planned for us long ago” (Eph. 2:10) were not yet blurred, there was no stress, anxiety, confusion, frustration, or restlessness. 

In John 15:5, Jesus describes this perfect design. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  After fleshing this concept out for us, He then says in verse 10, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” 

While His longing to help humanity get back to this place can be seen throughout Scripture, His heart is no more clearly and directly worded than in what we read in Matthew 11:28. "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

He then explains how we can experience rest again. It is by…

“Taking His yoke upon ourselves” (letting Him either help us, or pull the full weight of the heavy loads He never intended humanity to have to figure out how to handle and bear alone)

And…

“Letting Him teach us” (guide our hearts, feelings, behaviors, and steps as He did so freely with Adam and Eve before the Fall as they “walked and talked,” and co-created in an uninterrupted relationship with Him).

We can feel safe to do this because…

“He is humble” (not plagued by an ego that fuels a need to prove Himself for the sake of selfish, self-preservation)

And…

“gentle at heart” (understanding, not pushy, insistent, impatient - but willing and able to help us when we are facing the painful consequences of falling for the lie that we must be Him).

He says when we come to Him in this way, we will find rest for our souls. Not just a day off – or a lunch break. Although these were also a part of His original design, He’s talking about soul-level peace, calm, and stability. A way of going about every big and little task, conversation, decision, and step requiring courage in total dependence on Him, so we can rest from trying to be our own god.

This is something we can experience regardless of our very real-life circumstances, stresses, and problems caused by living in a fallen world. Living restfully is a disposition He is ready to generously pour into our hearts when we make time for Him (practice spiritual disciplines) rather than time attempting to be Him (striving to be anything we want and feel we should be). 

The invitation has been given. All we have to do is keep taking new steps in trusting that He is God and we are not. We do this every time we believe that when He says we can come to Him for steady, unshakable, soul-level, life-transforming rest, He means it.

“Oh what peace we often forfeit. Oh what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”  (What a Friend We Have in Jesus)

The Cambridge dictionary describes restlessness in the following ways:

“Unwilling or unable to stay still or to be quiet and calm, because you are worried or bored.”

“Moving because you are unable to relax. Especially because you are worried or bored or (of an activity) having a lot of movement as a characteristic.”

“Restless can also mean not satisfied with your situation and wanting a change.”

A key characteristic of feeling and living restlessly is voraciously turning a situation over and over in our minds, trying to figure it out. Or just as voraciously, trying to keep the mind (and body) busy and distracted so it won’t think about what it isn’t able to settle or figure out. (This is different than acknowledging the reality that something is wrong by simply stating the truthful facts and accepting that it is difficult for us.)The result is a body that feels fidgety, irritated, uncomfortable, and/or adrenaline-controlled. 

Our reflection questions come from Philippians 4:6-7 written by the Apostle Paul. His words give the impression he has had first-hand experience with feeling restless and at some point, found himself in need of a way to deal with it. 

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Questions

1. Is there any specific situation in my life that keeps me feeling unsettled, anxious, unsafe, frustrated, or bored (discontent)? 

2. Are there any specific things (desired outcomes, fears, insecurities, strong opinions) about this situation I have a tight grip on (or that have a tight grip on me) and therefore, leave me helpless to the feeling I need to be in control? 

3. Are there any ways I’m expecting myself to know, handle, or fix what only God can? 

4. Are there any specific troubling details about this situation I can ask God to (in His own good way and timing) give me His insights, perspectives, and heart on so I can lay down the fight that makes me feel restless? (James 1:5-8)