Rest Area

Matthew 11:28  Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

My wife and I began our full-time RV lifestyle in January of 2022. We left California and tried to get to Florida as quickly as possible. This meant spending a few nights “boondocked” in rest areas. Boondocking means you pull the RV over and get some sleep, without hooking up water or electricity. For the first time in my life, I fully grasped the idea of a “rest area.”

After a long day of battling other drivers on the freeway, pulling into a rest area gave me a chance to do just that, rest. I would be weary from piloting the RV down a road filled with people who went too fast or too slow. I would be stressed from battling the seeming millions of morons, I mean,  drivers all around me, people who obviously got the driver’s licenses from a cereal box.

Did I mention I was stressed? I needed to rest! However, the rest areas wouldn’t do me any good if I just drove past them.

Jesus offers us a chance to rest from battling the daily frustrations of life. We can get so stressed out about family issues, job, and other issues that we forget to rest. In today’s verse Jesus tells us to come to him, and he will give us rest. There is one vital portion of that sentence, though. We must come to him. You don’t have to be a great theologian or Bible scholar to understand that the way to God’s rest and peace is to go to him.

Try this: take a moment right now and say to God, “I need your rest, I want the life you have promised me.” It’s a simple prayer, but it won’t work if you don’t pray it.

Today’s Readings:  1 Samuel 28,29; Psalm 109; Matthew 11