Rest

Psalm 55:6
And I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! For then I would fly away and be at rest."

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

There is a wonderful verse in the book of Psalms (55:6). It says, "Oh that I had wings like a dove for then I would fly away and be at rest." Have you ever had a day like that when you just wanted to fly away and be at rest? Those are the days when it seems like nothing is going right and it would just be really good if you could take off and go somewhere else, because we always think somewhere else has got to be just a little more restful, and just a little more peaceful than where we are.

Well, you know what? The Lord Jesus had something to say about that. In fact, Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

I love that promise in verse 28, "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He doesn't say, "I might," or "maybe," or "if you're good enough," or "if you ask nicely enough." He says, "Come, I will give you rest."

Sometimes people ask, "Well, how do I come to the Lord? How can I do that?" We all need to do that at times. We need to come and get physical rest. We need to get spiritual rest, mental rest and emotional rest. The way we come before the Lord is to just simply bring ourselves. Bring that tired body and just sit down. Rest a while and soak in the beauty of His creation. Just allow yourself some time to do nothing except to rest your body when it is tired.

Mentally, you may need to take some time out too, and by that you simply take time to stop focusing on the heavy demands of the day and even just a few minutes to quickly think about something that is more relaxing and more enjoyable.

Emotionally, focus on the good times. Take time to laugh. Just let out a big, hearty laugh if nothing else. Spiritually, come before the Lord in prayer. Talk to Him. Don't ever be afraid to tell Him what is on your heart and mind. He knows it anyway.

Come before Him in worship and praise. Just tell Him how great He is. Read the Psalms. Pray the Psalms and sing them. Sing some of the old hymns. Meditate for a while just thinking about the greatness of God and His promises. Come before Him by reading His Word. Come to the Lord. He promises, "I will give you rest." That's the way to have those wings, take off and fly and be at rest.

By Dr. Ann Shorb

Find out more about Christian counseling.

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