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Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.30 for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The definition of rest is, “freedom from activity or labor: a state of motionlessness or inactivity.” Our minds seem to constantly be at work, and the thoughts continually come and go. Research into the brain and thinking has been ongoing for decades. The previous, widely held belief, attributed to the National Science Foundation in 2005, stated that the average person has between 50,000 and 80,000 thoughts daily. That’s a lot! Of these thoughts, a staggering 80% are negative. Even more astonishing is that 95% of thoughts are repeating themselves day after day. Negative thinking is taking over our brains, and we are doing it day after day! It is a continuous cycle, and our brains are believing these thoughts. What we speak we believe and what we believe we speak. It seems that we live in a constant state of fear and anxiety. Our minds need rest!
Unpleasant thoughts have a lingering impact on your mood and state of mind. Worries about your relationship, your performance at work, or some new and unusual health symptoms you’ve noticed – any of these can pop up and distract you from your current task or activity. Satan knows the thoughts he places in our minds steals our joy and destroys our peace, and he also knows that when we go to Jesus we will find rest. We must go to Jesus and cast all our care upon Him. Our minds must find rest by mediating on His Word. Paul states in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. We can let negative thoughts go while choosing to think on the wonderful ways of God.”
The only way to rest our minds according to Jesus is to go to Him! Stop and think about Christ’s words. He says several things here to all who are weary and burdened:
Rest comes from a person, Jesus— “Come to me.”
Rest is available if we come to that Person—“Come to me.”
He will turn no one away—“Come to me, all…”
Rest is a gift from Him—“I will give you rest.”
Philippians 4:6 states, “6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” This verse according to Eugene Peterson is saying, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.” Worry is pointless and useless. It helps nothing, but it does harm us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We must run to Jesus with all our worries, and lay them down at his feet. You will find rest in Him and Him alone.
Tony Robbins said we live in either of the two mental states — “a beautiful state or a suffering state.” A beautiful state is when you feel love, joy, gratitude, awe, playfulness, ease, creativity, drive, caring, growth, curiosity or appreciation. A suffering state is when you feel stressed out, worried, frustrated, angry, depressed, irritable, overwhelmed, resentful or fearful. What state are you living in? Will you choose to give your mind a rest? If so, run to Jesus, and you will find rest, peace, comfort, and joy! So look no further friends, there’s nothing in this world that can give this rest but Jesus.
(The Solution Column is provided by Pastor Brandon Young of Harmony Free Will Baptist Church, Hampton)