R & R, how?
Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Most of us related R&R to rest & relaxation; a common term sought but rarely found in today’s society. There is an underlying tone growing in our society; a tone of security lost. The lives we once were accustomed to vanish in an instant. Careers that we pour our lives into gone in a flash; and our lives and securities as we knew them vanish before us. The words secure and career have become an oxymoron; impossible to be used in the same sentence. These pains I know firsthand. There are many in my circle of friends experiencing it currently. We are at a point in our lives where we only know to look for God in the days to come; and to only rely on the understanding He will never forsake us. The writer of Hebrews reminds us to keep our eyes only on God; to rest in that security. Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” My study Bible says of this scripture, “This is one of the most emphatic statements in the New Testament. In Greek it contains two double negatives, as if to say, ‘I will never, ever, ever forsake you.” In the times when you struggle and wonder the why’s of life; instill this scripture in your heart to find peace in it.
Christ in the scriptures above had been speaking of John the Baptist and rebuking all the cities where He had performed many miracles, yet they refused to believe. He told them of how they would suffer greatly for turning their backs on Him. Then He went to prayer and thanked His Father for hardening the hearts of the prideful, and blessing the hearts of the humble. The humble found the peace and strength in Christ. They understood their need for Him. Christ sought to take that worry from them, and provide rest for them in their time of need. All that life throws at you; yanks out from under you; all of it can be of no merit when you rest in the security of Christ.
The wisest man who ever lived penned these words of peace in Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: 2 A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; 3 A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; 7 A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; 8 A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace. The R&R of life is only, truly, found in Christ.
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