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. —Matthew 11: 28-30
Life can be burdensome. We can feel the responsibilities of life weighing on us so heavily that it brings a constant feeling of tiredness. That tiredness or weight is not how God wants you to feel. He wants you to be burden-free and tireless. Jesus wants to give you rest.
There is nothing good about feeling tired or burdened. When we are tired, we tend to get irritable and sometimes do and say things that we later regret. The smallest little change or interruption in our tired eyes can be viewed as being extreme. We become unreasonable and hard to relate to when we’re tired. Not to mention that it could negatively affect our health if we don’t get it under control.
How can you feel less tired or burdened by the daily demands of life?
1. Come to Jesus. Prayer is essential to your daily living. Without prayer you can do nothing. The practice of waiting of the Lord will renew your strength and give you more energy that you thought possible to face life demands. In His presence, the spirit of God will quicken your mortal body.
But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. —Isaiah 40:31
2. Learn from Jesus. Not only will prayer revive our bodies but if you patiently wait on the Lord you will also receive direction from Him. He is willing to teach His ways; so ask Him for wisdom daily. He will show you how to meet your responsibilities and achieve your goals.
3. Acknowledge that God’s way is easier and better. Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light. Jesus’ ways or requirements of living and serving God are not hard. Understand that you have no strain nor struggle when you walk in alignment to God’s word. God has good plans for you (Jer. 29:11).
4. Watch what you say. Stop telling yourself and others how busy and tired you are. The more you say it the more you feel it in your body. The more tired you feel the harder it becomes to keep moving forward in your life. Remind yourself that God is your daily Strength. In Him you live and move and have your being. Instead tell yourself (Phil. 4:13), “I can with Christ being my help and strength.”
5. Stop worrying. Live one day at a time. Like Jesus said, tomorrow have enough troubles of its own so don’t worry about tomorrow. Now that does not mean you don’t plan your tomorrows; you just need to plan but without worry. Anything you are anxious about, take it before the throne of grace and leave it there.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. —Phil. 4:6-7
6. Avoid multi-tasking. Yes, you need to be productive. But doing several tasks at the same time does not mean you’re being efficient at your work. When you multitask you often feel divided, rushed and tired at the end of the day. Taking time to complete a task without being distracted by other things leaves you with a sense of rest and satisfaction. There are some things worth giving full focus to without interruptions or distractions.
7. Take 15-minute breaks to refresh. Take a walk or sit quietly with your eyes closed in a quiet place. Perhaps, if possible rest in bed (I like to do this sometimes, it’s refreshing). Relax. Refuse to think about your work. Think good thoughts (Phil. 4:8). In that short break you refresh your mind and you relieve tension from your body. When you resume your work, you will do it with renewed energy.
Today, let the word of the Lord penetrate deep within you. He wants you to have rest. He wants you to be well. He wants you to be healthy, fit and strong. If you choose to live without relying on Him you will likely feel over-burdened. Give all your worry, responsibilities, busy schedules, doubts, fears and anything that concerns you over to the Lord and you will find rest and peace in Him every day of your life.
How do you find rest?