So, I haven’t been sleeping.

Most of the time, sleeping is my secret superpower, my favorite hobby, and my dearest friend. But no more. I felt restless. I tossed and turned, while tallying up our bank balance. I woke up fretting for an hour. Finally, I just prayed, “God, please help me.”

Thankfully, I read this verse. “Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Rest—the very thing I needed. Rest for my weary soul. Rest for my burdened mind. Rest from the crushing weight of getting it right. Rest in Christ’s arms—real rest.

Can I tell you this? Just reading that verse made me weep.

The dam broke, and I just poured out my soul to Jesus—all my burdens, all my weariness, all my fatigue, all of it. I gave Him my faithlessness, my lack of trust, and my desire to control.

God is the one who carries the weight of our family’s well-being. That’s on Him. He is perfectly capable and I can rest there.

What about you?

Have you ever felt completely burdened, exhausted, and worn down by life? Do you ever feel that the weight of all your negative thoughts and worries is too much for you to bear? Are you feeling that way right now?

Jesus is there calling you to lay it all down. But I want to give you more than my personal testimony. I also want you to understand the fullness of Jesus’s offer, so when you speak those words over yourself, you know their truth.

Let’s read our verse again in context, so we can see how Jesus sums up our problem and offers His solution.“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).

Here’s our problem: We are weary and burdened by things that are too heavy for us. Did you see Jesus’s solution? We can come to Him and lay down our burdens. In exchange, He will give our souls genuine rest.

First off, soul rest? Yes! Whatever that is, I want it!

Rest is the thing we know we need. God made us long for rest so that we might find our ultimate rest—our soul rest—in Him. Soul rest is more than body rest. We’ve already discovered that our burden is a soul burden, and that burden is our sin. We are worn-out and weary from the effects of sin in the world and in our own hearts. We need more than a spa day to fix our problem.

I don’t have to have it all together to come to Jesus. I simply have to be willing to give God my worn-out weariness. I can lay down my burden right here and now. And so can you!

Oh, my weary and burdened friend, this rest is for you! Do you know you need it? That’s all you need to know.

*For further reflection, listen to Matthew 11 today.

*Adapted from Dwell Differently: Overcome Negative Thinking with the Simple Practice of Memorizing God’s Truth, Bethany House, May 14, 2024

You can listen to our conversation with Natalie and hear her passion for helping people memorize God’s Word.