Rest

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"Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" - Matthew 11:28-30.

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Soon after she was born, Maggie's dad leaves without a trace. No messages. No letters. No calls. Nothing. One day became two, then rolled into weeks. The months and the years went by, and it became obvious he was never returning!

Maggie's mom was left to cater for her new born alone. Without help, she was lost for ideas. Where does she start? She had no proper education. No skills. Not formal. Not vocational. Her family, you say? She's an only child! And here she is, in her early twenty-somethings, a mother with no one to turn to!

But despite the odds, she manages to raise Maggie. Wow! But the story is only just beginning...

Margaret is all grown up, she's now 27. She's beautiful, smart, driven and fiercely independent - what a combo! The ideal woman, you say? Let's see...

In the last two years, she's been in and out of four relationships! No kidding.
She ended things with one after three months because she felt he was taking her for granted and was ignoring her...

She ended things with another after a few date nights because he didn't call often enough, and she suspected there was another woman, else why wouldn't he call for weeks, right?

The latest one was particularly sad. They were actually engaged and it seemed like finally, this was it! But alas! She broke off the engagement when he had to travel out of town for a while!

All the while, she was telling herself, "No! Not like he did to mom. Not like he dumped her and she was left to herself. I never want that! I am never having that! I will never be the victim. No man will use me and dump me, instead I'll dump them!"

Memories of the past as her mom relayed to her drove her every decision when it came to relationships! Driven by the fear of being "used and dumped", then ending up alone, she became uber paranoid and ended her relationships at the first opportunity...whenever she felt that could happen.
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What does Maggie need? Rest. Rest from all her toil and struggle to not be the victim. Rest from her fears of ending alone after she's been "used and dumped".

Maggie needs what only Jesus offers - true rest from all labour and toil - be it physical, emotional and spiritual.

You may be like Maggie, you may have been trying hard all by yourself to get it right, but seem to constantly fail...

You may have been trying hard all yourself to overcome the fears and paranoia, but they just seem to be overwhelming...

You may have been trying hard all by yourself to live above sin, but you don't just understand how you keep falling short...

You may have been trying hard all by yourself to get over that hurt and move on, but you can't understand why it hurts so bad whenever you remember it...

You may have been trying hard all by yourself to make you believe that your value is not determined by how much you earn, or your certificates and qualifications, or by your looks; but your flaws, imperfections and inadequacies just keep stirring you in the face...

You may have been trying so many things all by yourself... Today, cease from all your labour for there's help for you...
"Come to me all you who labour, and I will give you rest."
Jesus offers rest, He is offering to take up your burden if you will lay it down at His feet.

How do you do get this rest? Jesus answers that, "Take my yoke upon you, for my burden is light and my yoke is easy"; what burden and yoke is He talking about? Grace. Embrace grace.

Jesus is saying...
Cease from all your struggles with your weaknesses and flaws and take up my grace that is sufficient for you...

Cease from trying so hard not to mess things up and take up my grace that is able to help you in times of need...

Cease from all toil trying to please God by your good deeds and righteous living, and take up my grace that makes you right with God...

Cease from battling the dread of eternal damnation and take up my grace that gives you eternal life...

Cease from being hunted by memories of your past mistakes and sins, and take up my grace that washes you whiter than snow...

Cease from bleeding due to past hurts and take up my grace that heals your heart...

Cease from trying to keep up with the fast changing trends in the world, and take up my grace that makes you complete...

Cease from trying to "make up", and take up my grace that changes you from inside out...

Cease from all your toils... My grace is sufficient... It is all you need...

Jesus is saying to you, "I will give you rest". All He needs you to do? "Come to me", He says, "take up my light burden and easy yoke - grace. Let me do all the heavy duty work for you while you rest. Remember, it is finished. You don't have to build from the scratch, leverage on my grace, and REST."

He has thrown out an open invitation, "Come to me..." Will you accept it? An invitation to who? "All who labour and are heavy ladden". Do you think you need what He offers? The rest? Then do as He says, "Come to me. Take up my yoke. Take up my grace."

If you're yet to know Christ for yourself and surrender to Him as your Lord, I'll encourage you do that right away.
All you need do is believe truly in your heart and confess with your mouth that He is Lord, and that you repent from your old sinful ways. Make that decision today, Jesus is waiting with open arms - and a smile - to welcome you with a warm embrace into the family. Remember, He loves you to bits, and nothing you have done - or will ever do for that matter - will change that.