“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Every day I give you an invitation, “Come to Me.” And indeed I give that invitation to you constantly, you can rest in Me and walk with Me at every moment now and forever. And that invitation, if you answer it, takes you on an unending path of pure joy, joy unspeakable full of glory.
Many of you, in fact, most people, believers as well as unbelievers, put too much emphasis on themselves. You carry heavy burdens through life that I never planned on you carrying.
The things that you carry are burdensome, a load for the weary beast. They stooped over, they have bowed down together; they could not rescue the burden, but have themselves gone into captivity. Isaiah 48:1-2
The answer: Come to Me and listen to Me. I have the answers, the resources, and all the supplies and help you need since the foundation of the world. I will carry you.
“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, you who have been borne by Me from birth and have been carried from the womb; even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; and I will bear you and I will deliver you. Isaiah 48:3-4.
Your focus should not be on yourself, it is not good for you to be alone, your focus should be on My gift to you that you can live your life through: Jesus.
By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 1 John 4:9.
I am very clear about where you should focus your attention:
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2.
Keep your eyes on Jesus He is the solid rock on which you can build your faith. He had joy in saving you and reconciling you to Me despite the pain and shame it entailed. He was counted among the wicked and yet He never did anything wrong. But it was your sins and your iniquities He bore and your sickness and pain He carried away. He was cursed and crushed in your place and He paid your debt for the eternal life you lost and took you sentence of going to the dust of death and made you right with Me with His own righteousness as foreshadowed in the burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering, and guilt offering. Your sins went onto the pure unblemished lamb and its purity covered you, but only until the true redemption price was paid with My Son’s precious and eternal blood. The blood of lambs and bulls and goats was like a credit card payment holding things intact until the real price that cleared the debt was paid.
I have done this for you in Christ. You owed the debt but could not pay it as no one had an eternal life in the flesh to give, so Jesus agreed to pay your debt and set you free. And it was His delight to do My Will in this matter.
For I was in Christ reconciling you to Myself not counting your sins and trespasses against you. I accounted them all to Him and none to you. Come and draw water with joy from springs of Yeshuah!
It is done and all you have to do is come. I have redeemed you. Return to My rest. Adam left it and I shut it, but in Jesus, it is open to you again. My loving arms are open to you and My heart is turned to you in mercy and grace. Stop regretting the past, it is over and gone, it is time to step up and sing a new song. It is time to come to Jesus and follow Him.
Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:1-3.
He is your good shepherd, ever at your side, who walks you through every dark valley to a table of plenty in the sight of your enemies and who carries the lambs in His bosom. You can lean on Him always. He is there for you as My gift to you.
Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom. Isaiah 40:11.
The conversation we are looking at today occurred when Jesus was speaking to a crowd during the time in which John the Baptist had been imprisoned by Herod but before Herod ordered his death. John sent his disciples to see for sure if Jesus was the promised Messiah and Jesus sent back to John the words of prophet Isaiah that He was fulfilling before everyone’s eyes to assure John that He was the One John had been sent to open the way for and prepare the hearts of the people to receive.
Once they had gone to return to John, Jesus turned again to the crowd and spoke to them about their slowness and hardness of heart to respond to John and to respond to Him and after that He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent, but we will go into these conversations more deeply in another Life Lesson, for now let it suffice to say that the crowd was wondering what to do to get out from under the sentence of condemnation that Jesus was speaking against Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, being that most of those gathered listening to Him were from those towns.
So what was the solution? Jesus surprised them. He started praising Me. What they needed was a revelation and an invitation. And the same is true for you today. But it all begins with worship. Remember, worship is looking at what I have done for you with love and awe and not what you have done for Me.
First comes the revelation and then comes the invitation from your Teacher, Master, Savior, and Lord, who saves you from the wrath to come:
At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, LORD of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Matthew 11:26-27.
Do you see from the prior conversations we have considered in these Life Lessons to what Jesus is referring? No one can come to Him unless I draw them and then once I have drawn them to Him and they have responded by coming to Him, then He reveals Me to them and draws them back into Me.
Whom do I draw and reveal My Son to? You know already: My eyes roam to and fro across the whole earth looking for those whose hearts are turned towards Me to show Myself strong on their behalf.
It is those who link with Me that I then link with My Son. And then through Him, cleansed of all sin and clothed in My righteousness, you can come confidently to My throne of grace holy, blameless and beyond reproach and receive everything you need from My Kingdom.
I draw you into Him and He draws you back into Me. Adam rejected Me and lost fellowship with Me but Jesus reinstates you in perfect fellowship with Me through your fellowship with Him. I have called you to fellowship with My Son, 1 Corinthians 1:9, because that way you come back into perfect fellowship with Me. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come except through My Son because otherwise you are still under the judgment of condemnation given to Adam and the sentence to which you are all under. But there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And that is My vision and heart’s desire.
But to have it all you must answer My call and come to Him. And in Him you will find your peace in His peace. He is your Prince of Peace. I lift you from the ash heap of the burnt offering for your sins and seat you with the Prince of Peace. I have given you beauty for your ashes in Him.
And after revealing the relationship of revelation from Father to Son and Son to Father, My Son gave those who would open their hearts an invitation for divine impartation:
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.
In this invitation My Son reveals My heart to you for we are of one heart and one mind. The burden of your sins was too much for you to bear.
For my iniquities are gone over my head; as a heavy burden they weigh too much for me. Psalm 38:4
But I have redeemed you. In Him you have redemption, the forgiveness of your sins, by His blood. I have found the ransom so that now in Him you can have the light of life. The burden is gone in Christ My Son. He has taken the load and put you under His yoke to make your life easy and light. He bears the burden, you have come into His gain.
Are you weary? Do you find your life burdensome? Are you anxious? It is time to come to My Son and He will give you rest. He will lead you to lie down in green pastures beside waters of peace and healing. Yoke up with Him and live your life with Him and through Him and in Him. In Him I take care of you according to My riches in glory. Let Him be your teacher. I teach you to profit and the way you should go by My Words and He is My Word. He explains Me to you in a way in which you can relate and understand.
You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; they will be glad in Your presence as with the gladness of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, and cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child is born to us, a Son is given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His Name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, God Hero, Father Forever, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:3-7.
It is done, it is finished, you are saved and complete in Jesus. You have only to come. Do not weep over the mistakes and sins of the past, a new day has dawned and My joy is your strength. Learn from Jesus and enjoy so great a Salvation. No one can take it from you.
I love you. Cast your cares on Me because I care for you. That honors Me and gives Me joy because My greatest joy is to give you joy. So give Me joy by receiving My forgiveness, My peace, and My joy.