Another night of only 4 hours of sleep and I was waking up exhausted, only to face another long and busy day. When is my next vacation? Who can keep the kids for a few hours so I can take a nap? These questions and thoughts of overwhelm were running through my head before my feet even hit the floor. No time for that, I had things to do. People are depending on me. But I’m so tired, my plate is so full. It’s the rhythm of the hustle and bustle for so many of us – being wife, mother, grandmother, caretaker, business owner, manager, employee, the list goes on and on.
Then the light dawned on me as I was ministering to our students during Chapel time. We were looking at Matthew 11:29. I was explaining to them how hard (really impossible) it is to reflect Christ-like character, or do anything for that matter, apart from God. I expressed our need to look at and follow our ultimate example, Jesus. Then, Holy Spirit convicted me. I clearly heard, ‘You need to do this too. This is why you’re so tired.’ Ouch!
Jesus always had people vying for His help and attention. There were literally thousands of people looking to Him for immediate help, all at the same time. How did He prevent feeling overwhelmed and exhausted?
Let’s look at Matthew 11:29. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
Take my yoke upon you. The purpose of a yoke is to connect two farm animals together so they can get a big job done more easily. The first thing Jesus is telling us to do is to connect with Him and allow Him to help us. There are things that are wearing us out emotionally and physically and we need to hand them over to God. He can make a big job so much easier if we do our part and let Him do His.
Learn of me. Here are three things we can learn from Jesus. The first two are, He only did and said what His Father told Him to do and say. (John 5:19; John 8:28-29) Taking on tasks that we did not talk to God about and receive His approval, gets us into overwhelm. Remember Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42? Let’s be like Mary and choose our time with Jesus over distractions and the demands of others.
The third thing that Jesus always did was spend time with the Father, by Himself. Jesus actually sent people away so He could pray and get refreshed. Spa days and mani-pedis do wonders for a BeYOUtie’s soul. But those do not compare to spending quality time with God. If taking a few hours for yourself is not feasible right now, start with simply closing the door. Taking a few extra minutes in the bathroom praying and listening to God can refresh us.
For I am meek and lowly in heart. Pride is an ugly thing. But many times we are operating in pride when we overcommit ourselves. We know that we can pretty much do whatever we’re asked. If we don’t know how to do it, we’ll find out how. We want others to see us as that person you can always go to and count on. However, the only person who fits that bill is God. So, let’s humble ourselves like Jesus did and only do what God has assigned and approved for us to do.
Ye shall find rest for your souls. So BeYOUtie, when we follow the instructions and example of our Lord, Jesus, we can leave behind the fatigue and feelings of overwhelm. No matter the season of life we’re in right now, we can lay down our rhythm of hustle and choose to cultivate a new rhythm of rest in our lives, today.
- Minister Kila Turner