I believe that every person’s first house that they own should be a fixer-upper. It is the absolute best way for a husband to learn how to be a “handy-man.” Prior to buying our first house, I knew how to do some of the basics, but nothing makes you learn quicker than being faced with a housing problem that you cannot afford to pay someone else to fix for you. I remember my wife and I being so excited to close on our first home together. We signed all the paperwork and ran right over to the house once we were done with the closing. I walked down into the basement to find a puddle of water, and so began my yearlong battle with that leaky basement. After trying multiple solutions, finally, my Dad and I decided to rip out the concrete and fix the issue right at the source. I will never forget the level of exhaustion from carrying buckets and buckets of concrete up the basement steps. However, once the issue was fully fixed, I will never forget how satisfying it was to finally lay down and rest that night, knowing the work that we had accomplished.
1. What is the hardest day of work you have ever done?
Matthew 11:28-30 says, “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.”
Every person on this earth is looking for rest. It seems like everything we do these days is built around the idea of how to get more rest. I know I am guilty of that. After wrangling three kids, taking care of my wife and my home, and trying to be a good pastor to our church, there are some days when I wake up asking when my next chance to sleep is going to be! Not only are we all looking for physical rest, but we all are looking for spiritual rest as well. Every day, I see people who are looking for something, really anything, to calm their souls.
2. What are some things that you find yourself trying to find your physical or spiritual rest in?
First, the Good News in this Scripture is that Jesus calls all who “labor and are heavy laden” to come to Him. Kent Hughes, in his commentary on Matthew, says, “He invites the tired, the poor, the tempest-tossed, the wretched refuse, those huddled masses yearning to be free.” He does not just invite those who have it all together. All are welcome to come to Him for their salvation, and salvation is found in Christ alone.
3. How does the truth that Jesus calls “all” to come to Him an encouragement to you?
Okay, so at this point, we are all thinking, “Yes that sounds great, I need some rest, how do I get this?” I believe we cannot miss the word “labor” in this Scripture. As the Scripture continues in verse 29, Jesus tells us to take His yoke upon us. If you do not know, a yoke is an instrument for work. It is a wooden frame that is placed upon the shoulders in order to make a load or burden easier to carry. Part of us may be wishing Jesus would have said, “Take my mattress,” or “Take my chair,” for rest. That may make a little more sense to us, but instead, we are called to labor for the work of the Lord.
4. How does laboring for the Lord lead to rest?
When we are following the Lord faithfully, serving Him, serving His church, and making disciples, at the end of the day our soul will find its rest is Jesus because we are living our life for Him. He is the only thing that can bring the fulfillment that our souls need, and a day’s work done for Him leads to rest in Him. Jesus does not promise us a way to escape from reality, He promises that He will provide the right equipment to deal with it.
5. Has there been a time when you were physically exhausted from serving the Lord but felt this spiritual rest from Jesus in your life?
I think back to different times when I had the privilege to serve on our prison trips prior to 2020. It would be two full days of nonstop ministry. It included meeting in the hotel lobby while the rest of the hotel was still sleeping, setting up equipment on blacktop on 90-degree days, playing music and ministering to the inmates while sweating more than I ever had before, packing up at the end of the day just praying to survive until we found an Outback Steakhouse or Texas Roadhouse. Every person serving on those trips would be so exhausted at the end of the day, but we would have the biggest smile on our faces because we knew we were able to do it all for the Lord. Even though it was physically exhausting, it was spiritually restful and rejuvenating because we saw the Lord work.
Mark 6:30-32 says, “The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.”
I absolutely love this passage from Mark. Here, we see the disciples returning to Jesus after being busy with the ministry of Jesus, and they share with Him all that they had done and taught. Just think of how encouraging that must have been to Jesus and the other disciples to hear the testimonies of what the Lord did through each of them. When I hear about what the Lord is doing in someone’s life, it gives my soul so much rest and rejuvenation to continue to work for the Lord. Please be bold enough to let someone know when they encourage you spiritually. Also, we want to humbly share with others what we have seen the Lord doing in order to encourage them to pursue Jesus more in their own lives.
6. What is something that you have seen the Lord do recently that encouraged your spiritual walk?
7. What are some ways that you can better share about the ways you have seen the Lord working and moving with others?
After the disciples shared with Jesus what had happened, He called them away to rest for a while. The Scripture says they had been so busy they had not even had time to eat. So, He takes them away to a “desolate place” to rest. Again, here we see Jesus giving rest to those who labored for Him. We can trust that when Jesus says that He will give us rest, He will actually do it. Allow yourself to rest in Him, trusting that what He says in His Scriptures is true! However, their rest does not last for long. It is right after this Scripture that we see the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 (Matthew 14:13-21). Our rest in Christ should always call us back to serving Him more.
8. In what ways are you currently active in working for the Lord?
Please do not confuse this idea of working for the Lord as only something that can happen within the church. Each day at your workplace, in your home, and at your schools, you can serve the Lord by being a witness for Him and working hard in a way that honors Him. The list could go on and on. We are called to go into all the world and preach the Gospel! Live your life in a way where you are always looking for how you can honor Christ and how you can make Him the focal point of what you are doing. Through that, you will find your rest in Him.
9. What are some ideas that could help you be more effective in the work of the Gospel in your everyday life?
Please know that if you are serving seven days a week at your local church with the wrong heart and the wrong attitude, you will not find this rest that Jesus promises. All you will find is bitterness and burnout. We must keep our love for Jesus at the center of our serving, and do it for His glory, not our own prideful hearts.
Colossians 3:23-24 adds, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
10. How can you make sure you are keeping your heart in the right place when you are serving Jesus?
Scripture is full of work orders. Think of the rest you feel in your bones after a hard day’s work. Kent Hughes says, “Rest comes from working. Rest comes from laboring. Rest comes from obedience. Rest comes in seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Rest comes from God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.” We find our rest in the finished work of Christ. The salvation He offers all of us allows us to rest knowing that we are now His children, and we can then fully dedicate ourselves to the work of His Gospel.