Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out?
Picture this.
You get home exhausted after a long day of work. Checklists of laundry and household chores fill your mind of things that need to be done. Instead you slump down on the couch and begin scrolling social media or watching another mindless show on television. You would rather feel numb than face the full weight of expectations and responsibilities weighing on you.
God’s initial design for us was to live in His presence in the Garden of Eden, just as Adam and Eve got to do. We would know Him completely and walk in the cool of the day, enjoying creation right alongside God.
When sin entered the equation with the eating of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, a new plan was put into motion. Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden for their own protection. God sent them to tend the soil of the Earth and blocked the entrance to the Garden so they would not eat from the tree of life and have to exist forever in a fallen state.
Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. - Genesis 3:22-24
Knowing good and evil, we as humans had built a barrier between ourselves and God. We now had to go to great lengths to be able to meet with Him. Altars were built, sacrifices were made, and the blood of animals shed. Offerings had to be presented and rules had to be followed closely in order for the presence of God to be accessed on Earth.
Then in one moment, everything changed.
But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. - Galatians 4:4-5
When Jesus came down to dwell among us, He told us that He was the way, the truth, and the life and that the only way to the Father was now through Him (John 14:6-7). When He died for us on the cross, we no longer had to go to great lengths to be in the presence of God because our sins were now completely paid for.
The burden we had to bear for so long was now taken off of our shoulders and placed on the One who had the ability to free us all. We did nothing to deserve this but God was so kind that He sent His one and only Son to die for us (John 3:16). Even though we now have access through Jesus to commune with God, we still live in a broken world and are affected by our sins and the sins of others every day. If we aren’t careful, we tend to take our access to God for granted and hold onto the exact things that Jesus came to free us from.
Perfection, shame, emptiness, confusion - losses and struggles of all kinds - are difficult circumstances but God is waiting right there to help us carry the load if we would just let Him.
The hope is that through this blog post you will be reminded or even discover for the first time that God is over all, in all, and working through all of us if we allow Him (Ephesians 4:6).
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. - Matthew 11:28-30 MSG Want to learn more about what it looks like to experience Biblical rest? Check out our He Carries It All devotional!
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