Finding Rest

 September 2, 2020

My pastor friend and fellow Cuba lover Tim Burden recently read from Matthew 11:28-29—slowly, so every word could sink in. Jesus said, “Come to Me...and find rest.” Our rest-less souls will never find rest in CNN, Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS or Facebook, and yet that is where we spend so much of our time and attention.

The devil has done a good job convincing us that we need to daily—if not hourly—keep up with what is going on in the world around us; in particular, all the craziness of politics. We believe the lie that if we miss the latest headlines, we are shirking our responsibility. We take on spiritual and emotional burdens we were never meant to carry. It makes us rest-less, and the more we watch, the more unsettled we become. Jesus has the answer: “Come to Me!” Turn off the media, shut out the distractions, and spend time with Jesus. Read the Bible slowly, prayerfully. Take time to be still...and listen. Only at Jesus’ feet will we ever find the rest for which our weary souls long. 

“Lord, slow me down. May I enter into my sanctuary, my quiet place where just the two of us can meet, face to face. I choose to ignore the clamoring of the news, the urgency of the immediate, in order to focus on the important and necessary. I know if my soul only splashes through the shallows of public discourse, I risk forfeiting the depths of your Spirit, and will end up a hollow man, filled with the emptiness of the world’s vanity. Forgive me for dancing to the devil’s tunes. Free me to live, truly live, in the vast ocean depths of your mercy and grace through Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen.”