How often do we find our souls deeply at rest?  Do the spiritual disciplines we practice each day give our souls rest?  What disturbs us and keeps us from rest?  It is worthwhile to reflect on such questions, as God’s wish for us is that our souls find true rest in Him.

No matter what hardships or sufferings we may be experiencing today, or how far off true rest feels, God’s promise is that we can find rest for our souls.  Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.  Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.”  Therefore, Jesus encourages us to: (1) come to Him; (2) shoulder His yoke; and (3) learn from Him.

Come to Him

The Lord wants us to come to Him and to live each moment in His presence.  God promises that when we search for Him, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13-14).  The nearer we go to Him, the nearer He will come to us (James 4:8).  But sometimes when we are overburdened, not just physically but spiritually, from hopelessness, doubt, or other disturbances and attacks of the Evil One, this initial step of coming to the Lord can feel particularly difficult.  This is a tactic of the devil that we have to reject purposefully.  As St. James reminds us, “Give in to God, then; resist the devil, and he will run away from you” (James 4:7).

At all times, but in these times especially, we are called to draw strength from the promises of God (Romans 4:20).  We can remind ourselves and one another that Jesus wants us to come to Him.  He said in John 7:37-39, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me!  Let anyone who believes in me come and drink!  As Scripture says, ‘From His heart shall flow streams of living water.’  He was speaking of the Spirit.”

Shoulder His Yoke

This gift of the Holy Spirit is essential to shouldering His yoke, as we will explore further below.  Let’s begin, though, with the definition of a yoke, which is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals so they can work together.  In the spiritual life, we know that God works together with us because of the beautiful promise in Romans 8:28!  “We are well aware that God works with those who love Him, those who have been called in accordance with His purpose, and turns everything to their good.”

How then do we join ourselves to the Lord, and what is the frame that connects us to Him?  In His great love, the Lord has given us so many opportunities to join ourselves to Him, such as through prayer (Philippians 4:6-7), His Word (John 6:63), the Sacraments, Christ-centered missions and relationships (Matthew 25:34-40; John 15:4-5, 10-13), living in the light by loving and keeping His commandments (1 John 1:7, 3:23-24), and almsgiving (Tobit 12:9).

And the frame that connects us to Him is the Holy Spirit.  As St. Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 6:17, when we attach ourselves to the Lord, we become one Spirit with Him!  We receive the fruits of the Holy Spirit, including peace (Galatians 5:22-23).  We find freedom from the disturbances and burning arrows of the Evil One, for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17).  As the Psalmist said, when we cling to the Lord in love, He will free us (Psalm 91:14), and in this freedom, we find great rest.

If, however, we attach ourselves to anyone or anything other than the Lord, we will not find true rest.  Jesus said in John 14:27, “my own peace I give you, a peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.”  The world cannot give us peace because the world is in the power of the Evil One (1 John 5:19), who comes to lie, steal, kill, and destroy (John 8:44, 10:10).  This is why the Psalmist says, “You are my Lord, my happiness is in none of the sacred spirits of the earth.  They only take advantage of all who love them” (Psalm 16:2-3).  Thus, if we yoke ourselves to the world—to lies, fears, idols, sin, repeated negativity, or anything else that does not come from the Lord—the fruits range from disappointment and disturbance to death but not rest.

We have to discern day by day whether we are yoked to the Lord or not.  St. Paul encourages this discernment with a sobering question in 2 Corinthians 13:5—“Do you not recognize yourselves as people in whom Jesus Christ is present?—unless, that is, you fail the test.”  One means of discernment is to examine the fruits we are experiencing (Matthew 12:33).  For instance, Jesus promised that His yoke is easy and His burden light (Matthew 11:30), but we know there are times in our lives that feel anything but easy or light.  It is useful to prayerfully discern and reflect on why (Romans 12:2; Philippians 1:9-11).

Are we experiencing a difficult ordeal because we aspire to serve the Lord and are being tested, refined, and called to grow in trust so that we may find rest amidst uncertainties (Sirach 2:1-6)?  Are we experiencing a thorn in the flesh that is leading us to rely on God’s power and strength so that we may find rest despite our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)?  Are we carrying a burdensome thought that needs to be brought into captivity and obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)?  

Are we weighed down, perhaps sinking, because we are holding onto something heavy that the Lord never intended us to carry?  Sirach 13:2 instructs us: “Do not try to carry a burden too heavy for you.”  It can sometimes be a painful battle to let go of these, but the Lord loves us so much that He is with us every step of the way (Isaiah 49:15; Matthew 28:20).  As we discern to what or to whom we are yoked, the Lord also will reveal that which we need to surrender and let go of to find rest.  This process requires intentionality and prayer but—because of God’s love, goodness, and mercy—can bear so much good fruit, including peace and rest!

Learn from Him

Finally, once we have come to the Lord and are shouldering His yoke, He also calls us to learn from Him.  This happens as we attach ourselves to the Lord and become one Spirit with Him.  The infilling of the Holy Spirit allows us to share in the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:10-16) and the love of Christ (Romans 5:5).  As we are yoked together, more and more, we will see as He sees, hear as He hears, and move as He moves.  

And as we look at Him (Colossians 3:1-2) and listen to Him (Hebrews 3:7-11), we will learn from Him and find rest.  In the Gospels, on the Crucifix, in the Mass, in one another, in ourselves, in countless ways, we can see our Lord, hear Him, and learn from Him.  This is possible all because of His lovingkindness!  Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, “let us, then, press forward to enter this place of rest” (Hebrews 4:11)!  Thanks be to God!