Come to Me You Who Are Heavy Laden

Last Sunday after breakfast, I took a warm cup of coffee upstairs to get ready for Easter church. I was simultaneously feeling exhausted and excited, and very much looking forward to twenty quiet minutes alone while getting ready for the day. Just minutes after arriving in my bedroom, I was joined by one child and then a second child, both desperately needing to talk to me. We had brief conversations, and I sent them back downstairs to play and help their dad clean up breakfast.

Changing Lives; Changing Routines

In many ways, our daily life hasn’t changed due to the coronavirus. We were homeschooling before, and so our routines of school and chores and meals remained the same. In other ways, our life has drastically changed, in both good and hard ways. We have played more board games than normal and painted and taught our kids to play four square and charades. We have laughed and snuggled more.

We have also been sad and stressed. Our kids have been lonely for their friends. I used to grocery shop once a week, and I enjoyed the hour or two out of the house. Now this normal chore is laced with stress. I spent an hour meal planning for not one but two weeks, thinking through the produce that would need to be eaten first and what would last in the fridge for twelve days. I made an extensive grocery list. I drove to the store hoping I would be able to find the food on my list. I joined a line of people waiting to get into the store and was then shocked by the lack of produce available. I went to a second store, shopped, and stood in an even longer line to buy my food. I came home exhausted.

Jesus Brings Rest and Comfort

After sending my children downstairs on Sunday morning, I locked my bedroom door. I stood there feeling my exhaustion, wanting a break, missing my church, and longing to gather around a table for Bible study. Then, in the way only the Holy Spirit can provide, a wave of peace came over me as I was reminded of Jesus’ words recorded in the Gospels. In John 16, Jesus is preparing the disciples for His death, and He says to them:

Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with Me. I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

We are currently scattered. Each of us in our own homes is experiencing this current tribulation in unique ways. We are adjusting to working from home, schooling kids at home, spouses working from home. People are grieving job loss and the loss of gathering with people. We are dealing with the realities of a downturn in our economy. As we process these hardships, our thoughts and emotions can feel a bit like a roller coaster. This is hard, and it is heavy.

Hand Everything Over to Him

Jesus knows about burdens. He knows what it means to be human. He addresses these things in Matthew 11 saying,

Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

Standing in my bedroom on Sunday morning, I handed it all over to Jesus—my worry over the economy, my stress from grocery shopping, my loneliness, my exhaustion. Although twenty minutes alone is good and helpful, it won’t fix any of this. Only Jesus can do that. I don’t need earthly rest, I need soul rest. Only Jesus can provide that. And He does, here in this broken and troubled world as we turn to Him. And He will, someday, bring it to full completion. So we turn to Him now, handing off our burdens, both big and small, as we also pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

During this distressing time, find a daily devotional and Bible reading to get you through each day with the Treasury of Daily Prayer.