Part 15 - How He Gives Us Rest

Suppose you were digging a hole, and I offered to give you a rest. How would I do it ? While you continued shoveling, I could call down a suggestion to you , such as, "Try tossing the dirt over your left shoulder instead of your right." I could sing a song about digging, or discuss all the latest philosophical thinking that might relate to it.
Would any of that give you rest ? No, it would more likely give you a heart attack. Yet those approaches are very much like what today's Christianity tries to do to bring rest to struggling believers, all in vain.

How could I truly give you rest if you were in that hole digging ? Obviously, there is only one way: You must get out and let me get in. You must drop the spade and let me pick it up. You must quit and let me take over. That is the way the Lord Jesus wants to give you and me rest. "Come to Me," He says, "all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." This is His offer. He is saying to us, "Get out, and let Me get in. Vacate, and let me occupy."

This is what happens when you take Christ at His word, when you come to Him and say, "Lord Jesus, I want the kind of rest that only You can give me." You bow yourself out and bow Him in. In true repentance you say, "Lord Jesus, I cannot, and You never said I could. You never expected me to do this on my own." It is true; I cannot - but in genuine confidence I acknowledge that You can ! Therefore I will translate what I know and believe into faith, and will let You do it. Knowing this, and doing it, is such a relief !

What happens next ? As you vacate, incredibly enough the Lord does occupy. He surprises you beyond your wildest dreams. You discover at last that God is big enough for the job. Your heart is filled with joy, and this experience of His adequacy strengthens your faith for the next situation that arises when you recognize your need for Him, your need for His rest and relief from your own ineffective self-effort. Then, when the next time of testing comes and you begin to feel weary and burdened once again, you can say,
"Lord Jesus, thanks for what You did last time. It was fantastic ! I had been baffled and could not see any possible solution to the problem I faced, but You came through magnificently.

However, the situation I am facing now is ten times worse, but that is exciting, Lord Jesus, because this gives You ten times more opportunity to demonstrate that, as God, You are never less than big enough ! So I thank You ! To your amazement, magnificently, He handles the situation in His own way and in His own time. You have learned to walk by faith, and every new experience of His adequacy strengthens your confidence as you receive more and more of His grace. That is how we learn to grow in grace.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you can find rest for your souls.....Matthew 11: 29.