surrender
“Come to me, all 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.”
Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Don’t die on the hill of striving— the gospel is rest.
Have you picked up something that God has not asked of you? How often do we ask God to take “x” away, when perhaps he wants us to go to him and lay it down?
Jesus says, “Come.” There is rest for your weary soul. This doesn’t mean right things are not hard things, following Jesus is both right and difficult. But sometimes we don’t realize we are carrying things we were never meant to. Fighting wars God has already won. We so often miss the grace of God, thinking everything depends on us. We work so hard to be strong. To perform well. We put forth our best effort and believe we can sustain ourselves.
Beloved, put it down. Whatever it is. Set it at his feet.
Every day we are to come before the Lord and surrender—our agenda, our reputation, our desires, our confession. We exalt his name over ours and say— now your will be done.
He’s got the whole world in his hands— not on your shoulders. He said his yoke is easy and his burden is light.
The gospel is good news for a reason! It is both transcendent, providing eternal salvation, and yet imminent—filling our everyday ordinary lives with a peace that surpasses understanding. Don’t die on the hill of striving. The gospel is rest, and we need it every single day.
Jesus says, “‘Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace! I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly’” (MSG).
With love,
Makenzi
additional reading:
Exodus 20:8-10, Psalm 127:2, Mark 6:31, Philippians 4:6-7, Hebrews 4:9-11
reflect:
Are you trying to be the hero of your own life? Are you exhausted, worn out? Friend lay it down. He is God. We are not. Lay it all down at the feet of Jesus and find rest.
centering prayer:
LORD, I surrender (fill in the blank ) to you today and choose to embrace the rest you have given me. Help me let go of striving for power and influence and instead recognize my utter dependence on your love, mercy, and salvation. amen.
