Take A Break - From Yourself

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Mt 11:29 AV)

Rest is what everyone wants.  We are not taking about an unending nap.  Not the kind of rest one gets for eight hours or so.  The rest here is spiritual and emotional.  Peace of mind and heart no matter what the circumstances.  The rest that transcends tumultuous events of life like financial disaster, serious health issues, failed families, or a myriad of other hardships of life.  The rest of soul of which the LORD speaks is a rest which the mind rarely experiences.  I like the Greek word for ‘rest’ here.  It means an intermission.  It also means a recreation.  It is a break from that which is causing unrest.  The circumstances are not eliminated.  They are put on hold for a brief moment.  However, if we are reading this correctly, what our LORD might be saying is that if we make Him our object of worship and study, no matter what life may through at us, we can have a permanent emotional and spiritual intermission from it.

There is a generation that knows what an intermission is.  In the old days, when one would go to a movie theatre, there would be a slight break in the midst of the feature film.  It was usually right at the climax of the picture that would give the audience a break to use the restroom, get refreshments, etc.  The intermission usually followed one of the most intense scenes which required a resolution.  The intermission was meant to build suspense.  What is going to happen?  Will the hero prevail?  How will all the subplots be resolved?  However, when one is hungry or needs to use the facilities, these questions may not be as important as they seem.  When the viewer returned to the picture, emotions had somewhat subsided.  The suspense was somewhat dissipated.  When the picture began anew, the viewer could then concentrate more on the details of what was happening rather than looking solely for the resolution of the situation he or she might feel the most important.  In short, the intermission was designed to take a break from what which was causing the most distress so that when we returned to the film, we were able to soak more in.

Our Savior says we can live in a permanent state of intermission.  The idea is to live life so that we can experience and learn all that we can learn.  This requires a rest of soul.  This requires we yield to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.  This requires we take an intermission from our human response to circumstances and learn how Jesus would have handled it.  When God is in control, life does not seem as big as when He is not.  Or better yet, when we allow God to lead, life seems rather manageable.  The key, according the Jesus is to take upon ourselves the yoke He has designed for us and learn of Him.  The phrase ‘…learn of me…’ requires a separation.  Something must be separated from something else.  What the LORD is trying to tell us is that we need to have a permanent intermission from ourselves.  We need to come apart from self.  Divorce ourselves from who and what we are and learn what God is all about.  This is the only way to have rest of soul.