Matthew 11:28
Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Rest is not what most of us think about when we think of God’s will for our lives. To the contrary, we usually think of God’s will in terms of work, work and more work. There is even a favorite old hymn about it that talks about us working till Jesus comes and another one that says that we are to be toiling on, toiling on. No, now is not the time to rest, it is the time to work for Jesus. After all, the Bible does say that we are to work while it is day, for the night is coming when no man can work.
Yes, all of this is true. There is a work to be done and we are called out, admonished and privileged to be the ones who are to be about the work and will of the Father. Now it seems that I am contradicting myself doesn’t it? I am not; the distinction that I want to make here is the difference in the will of the Father and the legalistic rules and expectations of man.
I am convinced that so much of what we call Christian work is really man’s works accomplished by man’s abilities with man getting all of the glory for it. I have seen the way that certain legalists will try to use manipulation and condemnation to try to get people to do the works that they have deemed necessary. The Bible says that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. God does not use that tactic to get us to do things, and neither should any man. The misconception that busyness is godliness is very detrimental to real Christian service. If you ask many Christians today how they are, they are likely to answer “tired” or “busy”. God is not impressed with our fatigue or busyness.
Don’t you let the Pharisees of this present time put burdens of service and loads of religion on you that God didn’t sanction. If you do, you are certain to be a victim of burnout.