Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.
Since I started Worthy News in 1999 there is one thing I have not seen in 22 years — a day that there wasn’t news to cover! I’ve not taken a so-called vacation since I started the ministry — yet I don’t feel worn out or weary. One day I was pondering to myself and thought, “why don’t I feel worn out?”
Many people take vacations because they’re exhausted from work, and need an extended rest to be restored and revitalized. Yet, ironically, more often than not, when they return home, they feel the need for another break to recover from the vacation they just took! Something is missing … and I think it has to do with the essence of Yeshua’s (Jesus) invitation, “Come unto me…”
Our relationship with Yeshua contains a promise of rest. His yoke is not a heavy yoke of “religious” performance, but an invitation to an intimate relationship which is restful and truly empowering. His joy will be our strength, and serving Him in that relationship will not make us weary or worn out, but actually invigorate, revitalize and re-energize us IF we are doing it with His help, His power.
When Yeshua was here on earth He was surrounded by those who were constantly in need. He faced harsh opposition, and rarely found any privacy. And even in those private times, when he secluded himself for rest — we read that He didn’t sleep, but rather He prayed through the night. Yeshua found His deepest rest in the presence of His Father.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with vacations, and we all really do need to disconnect from our work routine from time to time, but are you feeling worn out or weary, or even close to “burn-out”? Then it’s time to renew and refresh your relationship and allow Yeshua to give you His rest. Wait on the Lord, He will renew your strength, and His rest will restore your weary soul, revitalize your body, and empower you to continue in the vision and calling He gave to you. Find your rest in Him this weekend!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]In the late 1800s, an awakening in South Africa led by Andrew Murray was a powerful move of God. Studying that revival yields essential insights concerning the events occurring now throughout the United States. As the spirit of God began to move in Cape Town, Murray compared the SA revival with past experiences of revivals in Europe. He decided that the intense “emotionalism” was a false experience of God and charged in to break up the meeting. Stepping out of the church, he encountered his father standing and weeping. His father rebuked Andrew, “How dare you stop something that I have prayed to happen for 30 years!”
I love to study past revivals and in studying them, there are two recurring themes that stand out:
First, that He has often used obscure and unknown individuals to lead revivals, and that even these men whom He used so powerfully never considered themselves to be “special”, but often wanted to stay out of the limelight.
During the Great Depression, poverty swept across America like a whirling tornado, ripping up dreams and scattering hopes to the wind. One such poverty twister hit a small part of Texas where a man named Yates ran a sheep ranch. Struggling even to keep food on the table, Yates and his wife did all they could to survive. Finally, they had to accept a government subsidy or lose their home and land to the creditors.
When Joseph was thrown into prison, his life was thought to be over. How could anyone escape an Egyptian prison? But then, in one day, according to God’s perfect timing, he was instantly promoted to reign over all Egypt with only the Pharoah, (“god on earth”) as his Lord…
As we continue our study of Mashiach ben Yosef, we observe that both Joseph and Yeshua (Jesus) were chosen or ‘anointed’ for a special task. When Jacob gifted his son Joseph with a coat of many colors, lifting him up above his brothers, he reflected Joseph’s calling by the Lord for a life work as a leader.
Joseph interpreted dreams and revealed their meaning to those around him, and so Pharaoh gave him the name, Tsofnat Paneach (Zaphnathpaaneah) which means the “Decipherer or Revealer of Secrets”. Yeshua, (Jesus) at his first advent as “Mashiach ben Yosef” also came revealing secrets; not as an interpreter of dreams, but as one who disclosed the secrets of men…
Being hated without cause is an aspect of Messianic prophecy that applies to both Mashiach ben Yosef and Mashiach ben David. Just as Joseph was hated by his brothers, and David was hated by Saul without cause, is it any wonder that Yeshua (Jesus) was hated by the world without cause…