Crowned & Chosen

“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 find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. “

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

Feeling overwhelmed in this day and age has gotten the best of us. We’ve felt that busy meant we were prosperous, that you can sleep when you’re dead, or rest means you are weak.

We burn ourselves out. We make it impossible for ourselves to really sit in the present and enjoy the life we’re working so hard at (or the life we’re working to avoid).

Have you ever really rested? Or are you one of those people that gets some time away but can’t seem to sit down? Like you’re so used to doing something that you end up busying yourself with other projects because you can’t stand the silence?

Side note: filled up thoughts are also versions of busying yourself. You can’t do anything physically, so you ponder on things to do, but never actually do them. To you, it feels like control, but it doesn’t add a single minute to your life.

A few days ago I became so exhausted, but I felt like I had so much to do. Because I am pregnant, it doesn’t take a lot to get me to exhaustion, and I just can’t stand it! I spoke to my husband about it, how I feel like there’s so much to do with the apartment and I’m just too tired to do it; and I feel so weak when I have to lay there and not do anything.

I come from a slightly independent background. My mother inadvertently taught her daughters how to do things when they needed to get done, and to honestly not depend on another person to do what you can do yourself. I carry that mentality with me, even though I know that it can cause more harm than good when I really need the help. So, when I feel tired, I don’t ask, I just do it. Which causes me more exhaustion when I should be resting.

My husband told me, “babe, just tell me what you need done and I will do it.” But all I could think was “but will you do it right?”

How many of you do that? I know it’s not just me out here.

Last week, I came home from work, and I sat there asking God to take this burden of “having to do something” away. To show me what true rest meant, so that I can really get what I need. Also, that I wouldn’t feel weak for doing so.

That day, I sat there on my couch and I felt peace. Ultimate peace that reminded me it was okay to be tired. It was okay that I needed help, and it was okay to leave the kitchen a mess for a little while because my soul needed rest. Which was the most important thing.

Rest can mean a multitude of things for many people. The rest I needed that day was sleep and the act of “doing nothingness”. Something we should all really practice. I mean, I didn’t even think about the things that needed to get done, I just focused on the rest that was sure to come.

My eyes slowly closed, I grabbed my pillow and blanket, and I drifted off to one of the best naps I’d in a very long time. And when I woke up, I didn’t feel the eagerness to “do”, I just worked with the energy I had and I didn’t pressure myself to be superwoman that day.

I feel God calling me to rest more often than not these days. Rest in trying to figure out my life, rest in trying to “fix” problems only he can fix, rest in controlling outcomes I can’t control, and rest in trying to understand this season.

Why?

Because He’s trying to help me understand that He’s got me. He’s provided over and over again, He’s given grace and mercy every second of every day and there is no need to continue on thinking that I am going to change that by being more “busy”. I don’t have to stress about the next moment, because what is it really doing for me?

What is it doing for you? Are you overwhelmed, overthinking, exhausted, worn out, depressed, or just plain tired?

What is God calling you to rest from, and are you willing to do it no questions asked?

Part of healing is knowing when to listen, when to self-evaluate, and when to act. Right now, maybe all of the above is to listen when God is calling you to Him to rest, evaluate why you’re refusing to do so, and ultimately ask God to guide you to the rest He knows you need.

We make it so hard for ourselves, when God is trying to show us how easy it is for Him to move mountains for us.

Remember these affirmations this week. Write them down, post them on your social media, or screenshot them on your phone:

So…will you rest?

XX,

Tanaya

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