MGD: Rest

Shalom, beloved. Welcome to today's episode of our morning glory

devotion here at Harvest Chapel International Kumasi. We are glad

that you are able to join us to share in

fellowship together in the Word. Let us pray. Father, we

thank you for the opportunity to hear your word again.

We pray that you revive our hearts, stir faith in us,

and give us grace to go and do what your

word says. In Jesus' name. Amen. Let's take our confession

together from Joshua chapter 1, verse 8. This book of

Joshua 1:8

the Lord shall not depart out of my mouth, but

I shall meditate in it day and night, that I

may observe to do according to all that is written

in it. For then I will make my way prosperous,

and then I will have good success. Amen. Beloved, today's

episode is titled, REST REST It is written by Miss

Jessica Aholu. We'll take our scripture reading from Matthew chapter 11,

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

the verse 28 to 30. Then Jesus said, Come to me,

all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens,

and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you.

Let me teach you. because I am humble and gentle

at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden

I give you is light. Amen. Why is God calling

us to rest? Why do we need to rest? Beloved,

for many of us, The idea of resting can actually

make us uncomfortable. We think, if I rest, I will

miss an opportunity. If I take a break, someone else

might get ahead of me. If I stop working, how

will I make that money? What if the next great

opportunity comes while I am resting? We live in a

world that has created the definition of success that leaves

very little room for rest. Society tells us that to

be successful, we must constantly be doing something. We need

to be productive. We must be available. We must be moving, building,

achieving and making money. And so, Someone who chooses rest

can easily be seen as lazy, unambitious, or somebody who

is missing out. But the problem is that many of

us are exhausted. We are physically drained, emotionally tired, and

spiritually empty. Yet, we keep going because we are afraid

of what might happen if we stop. We don't want

to miss that opportunity. We don't want to miss that money.

We don't want to miss that next big move. So

we keep moving. But sometimes, God is asking you to

get out of the driver's seat. Because when you are

constantly trying to make everything happen, you can become so

used to calling the shots that you forget what it

means to rely on God. You begin to believe that

everything depends on you. I have to make this happen.

I have to figure this out. I have to keep going.

I cannot afford to stop. But rather, God is saying,

come to me. Not figure everything out. Not work harder.

Not carry the burden yourself. He says, Come to me,

all you who are weary and burdened, and I will

give you rest. God is not calling you to rest

because He wants you to lose. He is calling you

to rest because He wants you to trust Him. Rest

is an act of surrender. When you rest, you are saying, God,

I trust that you can work even when I am

not working. I trust that you can open doors when

I am not knocking on every door. I trust that

you can provide even when I am not constantly trying

to make things happen. Sometimes the greatest thing you can

do is to stop and let God drive the car.

Because you were never meant to carry everything. You were

never meant to carry the weight of your future, your finances,

your relationships, your purpose, and your entire life on your shoulders.

God says, give it to me. Give me the burden.

Give me the pleasure. Give me the fear of missing out.

Give me the need to control everything. Give me the

anxiety about tomorrow. And let me give you rest. This

is a beautiful picture in Matthew 11, 28-30. Jesus doesn't

just promise to remove the burdens. He invites us to

learn from him. He gives us a different way to

carry life, a lighter way. A life where we don't

have to constantly strive to prove ourselves or make everything happen,

but just to rely on God. So today ask yourself, beloved,

have I been resting in God? Or have I been

trying to control everything myself? Maybe God is asking you

to pause. Maybe he is asking you to take a break.

Maybe he is asking you to stop worrying about the

opportunity you might miss and trust him with the opportunities

he has for you. Because what God has for you

will not require you to destroy yourself trying to get it.

Let God drive. Let God provide. Let God lead. Let

God carry what you were never meant to carry. Because

when you come to him weary and burdened, he doesn't

give you another heavy load. He gives you rest. for

your soul. Amen. God bless you. Let's take our memory

verse for today from Matthew 11 28. Matthew 11 28.

Come to me all who are weary and burdened and

I will give you rest. Amen. Let us pray. Father,

we thank you for a wedding season. We invite you

to come and provide, to lead, to drive as we

take rest in you. As we take this step, may

we indeed find rest for our weary and burdened souls.

In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Beloved, God bless you for

connecting and being a part of today's episode. We know

that these God-sent words will indeed transform your life as

you walk in them. We encourage you to connect again

for more spirit-filled episodes of our morning glory devotion. Shalom

and have a blessed day. Amen.