When Jesus said, Come to Me all you who labor and are weary laden, and I will give you rest, He wasn’t messing around. It wasn’t a suggestion, it was a command.

Rest means: freedom from activity–work, strain, or responsibility. It means laying down your own efforts. It means trusting God to take care of it. The only way you can truly rest is to trust God completely. If you can’t let go, then you don’t believe that God is as capable of fixing something as you are. There’s a lie that needs to be rebuked.

Even God rested. For the Lord said to me, I will take My rest. (Is 18:4) He rested after creating the world, not because He needed to, but to be an example for us. We need to rest. We need to let go of stress. How much sickness and disease is caused by refusing to rest?

When we finally lay it all down and hand over the reins to God, we position ourselves to recieve His peace. We open the conduit for the downloads of wisdom, revelation, and understanding that we need to live the life that we’re called to. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid. (Jer 30:10) There is safety and protection in rest.

When we refuse to rest, it’s a decision and it’s sin. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. (Heb 4:11) Refusing to rest requires repentance. Living in rest allows God to fill us with blessing.