I think I am using the wrong tool for the job. I’m using a hammer where I really need to use a screwdriver. A restful holiday is the right tool for physical tiredness, but it is the wrong tool for my spiritual tiredness. If we are honest, we all struggle with a spiritual tiredness. It is the tiredness that comes from trying to prove our own worth. We feel the heavy burden to justify our existence and have others see us as valuable. That struggle is never satisfied and relentless. Even if we prove ourselves in one area there are always plenty more where we fall short. We are consumed by chasing our tails in a fight for significance that never stops, and it is completely exhausting.
So, if a holiday reading by the beach is the wrong tool for spiritual tiredness, what is the right tool? Well, Jesus boldly said that he is the only tool that will give you this rest. In Matthew chapter 11, Jesus says:
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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.
Isn’t it striking that Jesus doesn’t say, “come to religion” or “come to morality”. Jesus says, come to me. In other words, true rest is found in a relationship with a person not in performance or escapism. This is because when you come to Jesus you are given a new identity. You can have peace because you don’t have to prove yourself anymore, your sin is forgiven, you are fully accepted by God through Jesus. Jesus has done all the heavy lifting; he gives you a yoke of grace not of guilt. This gift gives you the deep spiritual rest from all the striving anxiety, fear and guilt. We have the assurance that we are loved, not because of what I have achieved but because of what Jesus has achieved.