A brief meditation designed to snap you back into the restoring power of God’s love.
2026-07-05
Finding Rest in Jesus
Have you ever felt weary and burdened by the demands of this life? We try to live up to the demands of this civilization. Living at the level most people do is not easy. From obtaining healthy food to finding an affordable home, appropriate clothing and a decent job, this society has basic standards that are very hard to attain. We work hard, make our best effort, and then we find ourselves worn out, tired, exhausted… and that is still not enough.
In our exhaustion, we turn to God for help, and if we go to the wrong place, we may find ourselves trapped in similar conditions: a church, a religion, or a pastor who makes demands even harder to meet. I’ve been there, done that, and it didn’t give me rest, let alone joy. Let’s see what Jesus has to say about this.
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants. 26 Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure. All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal him.
These words are both a revelation and an affirmation: all things are in the hands of Jesus. From creation to redemption, salvation, and glorification, he received full authority from the Father. He is the only mediator between God and humanity, and through him alone we receive every gift of grace.
Jesus also said that no one knows the Son except the Father. No one can fully comprehend his nature, incarnation, life, death, resurrection, or his perfect relationship with the Father in the Holy Spirit except the Father himself.
The same is true of the Father. No one fully knows the Father except the Son, who has lived in eternal communion with him in the Spirit. But then Jesus says something astonishing: only the Son knows the Father,“and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal him.”
That means the knowledge of the true God is revelation, a gift given through Jesus to all who believe in him. The word reveal is the Greek apokaliptō, meaning to disclose, uncover, or make known.
No wonder Jesus joyfully praised the Father: through him, the Father can be truly known. This knowledge is not a man-made theory about what God should be. Philosophers tried to define God by attributes such as omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence. Those may be true, but Scripture reveals God most clearly in another way. God is revealed in Jesus. If your God doesn’t look like Jesus, it isn’t the real one. As Jesus told Philip, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
At this point, you may wonder what all this has to do with finding rest for our weary souls, tired and burdened by the demands of this world, the fears of this age, and the false solutions and demands of legalistic, Christless religion.
Jesus was not the kind of Messiah people expected. Yet he declared that all authority rests in his hands and that the true knowledge of God is available to the little ones in him by revelation.
Now read what Jesus said:
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly 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).
Jesus said, “Come to me.” In other words, “follow me, become my disciple, and find your rest in me. I am humble and will treat you with love and grace.” Yet doesn’t following Jesus sometimes bring pressure, persecution, and even family trouble? That is the paradox. In Christ, even under pressure, we can find rest and joy, as Jesus rejoiced with the Father in the face of opposition.The kind of rest that Jesus offers is not based on the absence of problems or opposition. It is not a rest that depends on the perfect resolution of external factors and the circumstances of this world. The rest that Jesus offers is found in Himself. He is giving us not a list of dos and don’ts to fix our troubled lives, but HIMSELF! He is offering us Himself, His Holy Spirit, and His relationship with the Father. That is what gives us rest: not what we can do, but who we become in Jesus because of what He accomplished on the cross. He said, “In this world you will suffer affliction, but don’t be afraid; I have overcome the world.” He makes us part of His victory.
So how do we come to Him? Jesus said, “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.” Be teachable. Stop relying on your own wisdom and instead receive Jesus’ wisdom. Be humble. We are not God; Jesus is, with the Father and the Spirit. Yet we often say, “I’ll follow you, but on my own way,” or “Let me keep trying a little longer.” The gospel confronts that indecision. (Mat. 10:32-29).
Jesus says, “Be humble like me.” Many refuse to follow him because, deep down, they want to remain their own gods. Humility means stepping down from our little throne and handing it over to Jesus. If he, who holds all authority and power, is humble, who am I to say, “Wait, Jesus, let me keep trying my own broken ways?”
Are you still tired, burdened, and weary? Are you emotionally and spiritually broken, as if standing in a dry spiritual desert? “Come to me… I’ll give you rest,” says Jesus.
Resting in His grace,
Alvaro.
Alvaro Palacio
gcitorontoeast.org 