STRESSED OUT

a devotional by Justin Camacho

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28

The past few weeks for me have been absolutely crazy. I’ve never been busier with school in my life! At the same time, it’s been awhile since I’ve had to rely as heavily on this verse as I am now, and with that comes an amazing blessing that I’d like to share.

I feel like a lot of us right now are going through some stressful stuff, whether it’s with school, or a job, or friendships, moving, planning the future, or any other thing that’s constantly on our minds. In whatever situation, it’s important to be honest about what we’re going through with God.

The thing that might be easy to miss about Matthew 11:28 is that is starts with an action step- “Come.” Coming to Jesus is not only something we do once and for all for salvation, but also an act we should be doing constantly in our daily lives. If we’re not coming to Jesus with our stresses and anxieties, then we won’t have rest amidst them. 

It’s easy to read this verse as a declaration and not as a command like it really is. As a declaration, it just says “Jesus gives me rest.” But let’s be honest, there are countless times in our lives, or even just in our day, when we definitely do not feel at rest. Why is this? Was Jesus lying? Obviously not. What the verse is actually saying is “Come and get your rest.” Come to Jesus and sit at His feet for just a moment, just like Mary did (in contrast to Martha who was distracted by her to do list). 

I encourage you guys, whenever you find yourself stressed out of your mind, talk to Jesus about it. Tell Him in detail everything you’re worrying about. Tell Him about all the stuff you have on your plate that you don’t think you can get done. Tell Him exactly why you’re frustrated, ask Him questions. And tell Him that you’ve come to Him because you know He can give you rest. And He will.  

“...but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6b-7