“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)
I used to race bicycles competitively. From 1990-1997 I raced in over a dozen states. In order to do so, I trained regularly and rigorously. You may be familiar with cycling, if only from watching the Tour de France on TV. In cycling, the riders will form packs or groups to work together and conserve energy. Each rider taking a turn in front then slipping back to take shelter and rest until it is again their turn to “take a pull”. Riders in groups will even share food and water, knowing that they are stronger as a group. They will watch after each other and work together in hopes that the group will be successful and make it to the finish ahead of the other riders.
In some cases riders who become fatigued get “dropped” from a group and are left alone. They may, for a while, attempt to work very hard to maintain the pace of the group, and even hope to rejoin the group, but invariably the physical and mental demands to maintain such a pace can cause them to “crack”. At that point the wise tactic is for that single rider to drop back to another group, take shelter from the new group, rest, and recover. If you race long enough, it happens to everyone. From experience, I can tell you that, when you are “dropped” and left alone, it is an awful feeling. The feeling of being “dropped” and left alone is difficult to overcome. The physical weariness is one thing, but mentally motivating yourself to continue and finish can be a great battle of will.
However, when another group comes along and you are able to join them, you become re-energized, refreshed, and recommitted to finishing the race. The new group accepts you, welcomes and encourages you, provides you the relief and rest you need, they pull you along, they nourish you, and there is exchange of important race information and friendly conversation. They are just what you need to finish the race you started!
Something else I know from experience is that sometimes in life and in our careers, we can get “dropped”; we become both physically and mentally weary and fatigued; the burden becomes so great that we feel as though we just can’t continue or finish; we want to give up. In those times, God wants to be that group that comes along when we most need it. He will always accept us right where we are, there is always a warm comforting spot for us in his arms, he wants to give us the rest we need, he wants to renew our strength, he is “the bread of life and wants to nourish us, he offers the peace we are looking for, and he wants so much for us to talk and share our lives with him. He is the one who can help us, not just continue the race, but to finish it…and finish strong!
Go to him, find rest for your soul, and allow him to help you find happiness in life and at work.
If you are unhappy, lonely, feeling down, discouraged, depressed, or disillusioned, I encourage you to please read and meditate on these words…God breathed through the prophet Isaiah. If you will take the time to do so, you will begin to feel restored, refreshed, and recharged. Whatever has happened, or is happening in your life to cause you to lose hope, God wants to change that. he wants to fill you with his spirit, the Holy Spirit, the spirit of life, joy, and peace. He wants to rebuild, restore, and renew your life as only he can do, and then he wants you to rejoice and be happy in life and at work!
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
8 “For I, the LORD, love justice;
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
