“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV)
Learning to be gentle is so important for a follower of Christ. Gentleness defuses conflict. It disarms critics. It’s persuasive. It’s attractive. It communicates love.
Most importantly, gentleness makes you more like Jesus. Matthew 11:28-29 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (NIV).
Wait. Does this mean that the stress and pressure you’re feeling in your life are because you are not gentle? Yes. Because the Bible says that the more Christ-like you become, the more gentle you become and the more at rest you will be.
Do you want to be at peace? Do you want to be like Jesus? You can’t just walk out your door and force yourself to be gentle. You can’t manufacture gentleness, because inside you’re still going to be under stress. It’s got to be an “inside” job. It has to be the fruit of God’s Spirit inside you.
I don’t know what burden you are carrying, but I do know the answer to your stress. Jesus wants you to take his yoke upon you. This means he’s going to bear your burdens with you.
And when you let Jesus share your burden, you will walk with him in a close relationship. You will learn how to be gentler and humbler. He will exchange your stress and pressure for his rest and peace.
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