Refuge for the Weary - Discover the Book - Jan. 22, 2012

Refuge for the Weary

SHECHEM means "shoulder,” and suggests that we find in Christ a resting place, a friend on whom we can lay our burdens. “Can I hold out?” is always the question a new believer asks. The answer is:  He will hold you! The Lord Jesus is our strong Savior. Most believers have found that they can find no rest trying to live life their way instead of God’s.

So Jesus is the refuge for the weary.  There is no sheep of His pasture that He doesn’t invite to find rest in Him. He seeks us, finds us, and offers to us His perfect rest. Remember this week these words from Christ's lips:

      Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to 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 gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

For a moment let’a do a weariness study of life around us and see if we are weary. 

First, we are weary because of the change and stress which derail us from seeking God's Promised rest.

       Isaiah 30:15 “For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength. But you would not…”

Although people will pay to fix their stress, they are not about to change the lifestyle that is causing it. - David C. Mc Casland 

The only trouble with success is that the formula for achieving it is the same as the formula for a nervous breakdown. – Chuck Swindoll

Stress may be the spice of life or the kiss of death. – Robert Elliot, M.D., Cardiologist

Secondly, we are weary because of the ceaseless pressures of debt that rob our taking advantage of God's Promised rest.

       Isaiah 48:18 “Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

Another reason we need to cease all and rest weekly is that it keeps us aware of the debt frenzy all around us.

Thirdly, we are weary because the hurry and rush surrounding us always displaces God's time for us to rest.

       Isaiah 58:13-14 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words,  Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

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