Rest in Him

Call to Prayer

Title: Rest in Him

Date: 22.04.2024

By: Daniel Peter

 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29 NKJV

We live in a world where people are rewarded based on their performance; This is evident in the grade-based school system and at workplaces where one’s skill and experience influence administrative or managerial decisions. This has created a situation where one tries to outdo the other; A silent competition exists between people, which is the source of strife between men.

Divisions in families, wars among nations, and the dissatisfaction many express of their lives, etc. is because they are burdened with the need to perform and they compare themselves with the other. However, the way of the kingdom Jesus Christ introduced is quite different from the practice of the world and it is a way of rest for all that find it. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus admonished His followers to imitate His gentle and lowly heart, and they will find rest for their souls. The word gentle is from the Greek word Praos, which means ‘humble, mild, meek or placid, etc’, and the word lowly is from the Greek word ‘tapeinos’ which means ‘humiliated, brought low with grief, submissive, poor or small, etc’. Both words suggest a posture of heart that considers itself lower than the other.

This posture of heart is one that has a reduced self concept and esteems others better than his or herself. From this position, one can humble his or herself to serve, rejoice when others are being celebrated, and be content with little even when others seem to have more. This eliminates the burden of competition that exists in the world and results in true happiness. People with this kind of heart are the ones the Lord exalts. This heart posture is the result of knowledge, for Jesus Christ knowing that all things have been entrusted to him by the Father and that He was from God and He is going back to God, He humbled Himself to do the job of a servant by washing the feet of the disciples ( John 13:1-17).

Just like Jesus Christ, when we know all that has been given to us in Christ, whose we are, and where we are going, it eliminates the need for us to prove ourselves, and we are able to humble ourselves to serve others for we are fully secure in Him. Therefore, we find rest from the strife that exists in the world.

Prayer Point:

Let’s thank God for His word today. Let’s ask Him to help us imitate the gentle and lowly heart of Jesus Christ.

Repost from: 25.04.2023