Dear God,

I'm tired. I feel like it is so obvious a fact that it nearly seeps from my pores, let alone my eyes.

This road gets so long sometimes. I often feel like life is too short, ready to take on the world; however, as of late I don't feel that way. I am burdened, yet by no obvious thing. Growth hurts. It's draining, and it's times like these that I feel I can't experience the freedom of your love. My mind screams farce, whilst my heart wanes to beat. My wife asks, "are you depressed?" I couldn't imagine so…I'm not sure what I am.

I've just read a statement in your word (Matt 11:28-30) "come to me all you who are weary and burdened, 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 feel rest for you souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light"

I yearn for this statement to be true again, to be fresh and renewed, to "carry a yoke that is light".

I guess what I need to realize is, sometimes I need to rest. Rest is a gift. It must be accepted. The Word does not say I will energize you or give immediate revitalization, it says I will give you rest.

Sometimes I feel like that small child. The kid who is desperate to stay awake out of fear he'll miss something. The kid who stays awake in bed just to fight sleep, the same kid who falls face first in his food because he's so tired. We, like small children, need rest. It's easy to get caught up in our jobs, families, friends, and burn ourselves out for fear that… "We'll miss something".

The reality is that when we feel overwhelmed it's probably a good sign that we are not being dependent enough on God. God asks us to cast all our cares upon Him

We must remember that we aren't walking like "free range" ox, but instead we have traded our own yoke of heavy consistent burdens for Christ's yoke, which he promises is light, and easy. When we're feeling heavy and burdened it's like being caught trying to carry our own load again… Let it go!! Despite all this, he who carries any yoke still needs rest. I recently took a body pump class with my wife (I don't typically do gym classes). I was beat!! We used very low weights but after an hour of constant lifting my arms and body required rest. Jesus Christ, our Lord required rest. Many times He would Go off to the mountain top, or into the wilderness to rest with His heavenly father. Do we need any better example? I'm thankful we have a God allows us rest, and in fact, offers it for us, all we need is accept.

~ Jake