Come and rest
Jesus does not invite the comfortable and the well-rested. He calls those who are tired, burdened, and worn down. His first word is not an instruction but an invitation.
Rest is not always the absence of work. Sometimes it is the honest act of bringing your weariness to Him before you try to carry one more thing. Come as you are today, and let Him take the part of the load that is too heavy.
Jesus, I am tired, and some of what I carry is more than I can hold. I come to You now. Give me the rest that only You can give, and help me learn to lean on You again. Amen.
κοπιῶντες (kopiōntes (koh-pee-OHN-tes)). “Labouring” or “weary.” The word describes exhausting toil that leaves a person spent. Jesus names this exhaustion honestly, without shame.
Matthew 11 records Jesus speaking after He has been rejected by many towns. The invitation comes as a contrast to the burdens placed on people by religious teaching that had become a heavy yoke.
Gladys Aylward, a British woman turned down by a mission board, went to China in 1932. She later served children and refugees in Shanxi, showing that God uses faithful people who are not the obvious choice.