Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Rest for the Weary

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


The definition of REST is: to refresh oneself, as by sleeping, lying down, or relaxing. To relieve weariness by cessation of exertion or labor, and to be at ease; have tranquility or peace. 


Sounds good, doesn’t it? We all need rest, and when we’re very tired, we look forward to it. Even my little grandson enjoys his rest. He doesn’t have the words yet to express it but will point to his crib, and when he lies down, will smile and wave bye-bye.

This scripture talks about rest for our souls; relief from the trials, stress, tribulations, burdens, and sin that can weigh us down. Remember Christian, in the book Pilgrim’s Progress? He was weighed down by a heavy load and longed for relief as he journeyed to the Celestial City. He found his rest when he reached the foot of the cross. The straps that bound the load to him broke and he was free from the oppressive weight.

We don’t have to bear the weight of our burdensome load. Jesus promises us in this scripture passage to come to Him and he will give us rest. Are you tired? Are you weary? Are you burdened? Leave it at the foot of the cross and find rest for your soul.

My husband’s grandmother wrote the poem below.  I never had an opportunity to meet her, but know she would have been pleased to have me share it with you.



Rest in the Lord, O tired heart
And wait patiently for him
He’ll lift your cares and light your path
When everything looks dim.

He knows your need for daily strength
The problems that you face
He’ll give you courage and supply
His boundless love and grace

Rest in the Lord, O tired heart
There is no better way
To find refreshment, joy and peace
O rest in him today.
by Violet Elwell


This post is linked to:
What Joy is Mine, Home Making Mondays


17 comments:

  1. Such a lovely scripture.
    I love the poem too.
    Blessings, Elly

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  2. This is a beautiful post, as yours always are. Wonderful poem by your husband's grandmother, and the story of your little grandson is precious and so telling of our need for rest.

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  3. Beautiful post, sweet friend. And once again, very timely :) I shall have to bookmark thispage so that I can refer to these encouraging words often.

    Thinking of you and wishing you a lovely day. Much love!

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  4. What a wonderful blessing!!! Thank you Abby for sharing this poem and your thoughts with us today. I needed this! I'm going to share it on my Facebook page too, because I know there are many who need this too.

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  5. Rest is my word for 2016. Around November of last year I kept coming across the word everywhere. I spent quite a bit of time praying about it and asking the Lord to confirm it and have been reading and studying on it ever since. I love the poem your husbands grandmother wrote and am going to write it into my journal. Thank you for sharing.

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  6. Beautiful poem, Abby,and so true. I was trying, just the other day, to remember where that verse was found, thanks for sharing it with us today. We do need to find His peace and rest in Him.

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  7. That is a beautiful poem. Both John and I liked it very much. Have you ever set it to music?

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  8. Thank you Abby - that was refreshing, and a timely reminder.
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  9. Thank you so much, Abby. This is so necessary for me today. My eldercare load has become much heavier of late, and I confess to being weary. This was a great encouragement to me, and I love the poem by your husband's grandmother. Thank you for sharing it.

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  10. Wonderful post Betsy, thanks for the sharing of the foot of the cross where our burdens are left as Pilgrims was...

    May we walk daily in remembrance of this, Shaz in Oz.x

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  11. Thank you, Abby, for leading me to this post of peace and tranquility. Your husbands grandmother was beautiful in her writing.
    I enjoyed writing poetry when I was in high school, but then I had an English teacher that discouraged me and I threw all that I had written away never to write another poem again. I have often thought about picking it up again, and I may just do that. :)

    It was a delight to come and see your loveliness once more. I have missed visiting with you.

    Have a beautiful weekend~~

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  12. I love this simple and gentle reminder Abby. Thank you for linking it with the Art of Home-Making Mondays :)

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  13. Absolutely beautiful post! Thank you so much for sharing your heritage poem.

    Be blessed!


    Please drop by and say hello!
    ஐღLauraღஐ
    Harvest Lane Cottage
    ...doing what I can with what I've got where I am
    on a short shoestring budget!
    ~~~~~

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  14. I'm coming from JES's wonderful, precious blog, and I'm so glad to have found you and your so gathering corner on the web !
    I'm following you with so much joy !

    Hope your week is off to a great start, I wish you blessed days to come

    Daniela

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  15. Good morning! Just a little note to let you know that this post has been FEATURED today on the Art of Home-Making Mondays. Thank you for joining us and do come again soon! :)

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  16. Beautifully said. And a lovely poem.
    Amalia
    xo

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  17. Such a wonderful poem, how lovely to have a poem written by a. relative

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Your comments are blessings to my day.