IS THERE ANY RELIEF FOR THE WEARY AND STRESSED?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 
(Matthew 11:28)

MEDITATION:
In a high energy world where instantaneous expectations and gratification 
are the norm, it is difficult to find any time of quality rest.
We have all kinds of innovative inventions designed to help us save time,
and yet it seems that the demands for our time have increased tenfold.

Our time is spread across family demands, job demands, social interaction, 
hobbies, sports activities, spiritual requirements, etc.
Sometimes we can find it difficult 
to balance all of these demands for our time, and as a result, 
our much needed rest finds a place on the back burner of our life.

A good night’s sleep for many means getting in at least five hours 
and only waking up a couple of times during the night.
We struggle to shut down our minds at bedtime, and anything that is 
bothering us will seem ten times worse if we wake up during the night.

Think about the times when someone else has upset you 
and as a result, you struggled to go to sleep at night.
Then you woke up during the night and spent an inordinate amount of time 
planning what you will say to them the next day, 
anticipating what they will say in return, and how you will respond.

When the morning arrives, you are still upset with the other person,
but even worse, you haven’t gotten a good night’s rest.
And of course, everything you rehearsed seldom pans out the way you expected.
The same type of sleep disruption can be a result of the demands of a job, 
or anything other demands on you.

So, how can we find ever find any ‘downtime’ for ourselves?
The Bible tells us to ‘come to Jesus’, but what does that really mean?
It means that we make a concentrated effort to sweep out of our minds 
everything that is creating stress and distracting us.

Then we get alone with the Lord and focus on 
how He has blessed us with the positive things in our lives.
For instance, we may not be happy with our job situation, 
but at least we have a job that allows us to provide for our family.

We may not have the ‘best of the best’ like some our friends, but we 
do have a lot of the same things they have (home, auto, clothes, food, etc.).
As we reflect on our blessings from the Lord, 
we should be inspired to pray and thank Him for all He has given us.
And as we do these things, He can shift our minds 
from the negative stresses and demands on our lives to a 
positive appreciation of all that we have, and all that we have accomplished.

ACTION:
Trust the Lord in what He says and schedule time with Him often.
He is the ‘chain breaker’, the ‘stress reliever’, and the ‘rest provider’.
Whenever you feel that you are in a jam with no way out, 
the Lord can show you that no bad situation is totally inescapable. 
You may have to do some things differently, make some tough decisions,
and develop a new attitude, but He can guide you 
through the necessary changes that need to be made.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your promise that no matter how 
bad things seem, no matter how stressed I might be, no matter how 
high my frustration level might be, and no matter how hopeless I 
might feel, You can help me to find rest. Help me to spend more 
time with You, and to come to You first whenever I am weary and 
burdened, rather than trying to solve things in my own strength.”

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