Come to me, all you who ae weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 NIV
I live in a heavily visited city, Las Vegas, NV. The suburbs are not as loud, but The Strip constantly has noise. Most people only think of The Strip when thinking of Las Vegas, so they ask how does one live amongst all those people, noise and sin.
People and sin are in every city. There is no escaping that, but the noise, not as constant in some parts of the country. So, what do you do when the noise is harder to escape? You rise above it.
I love taking the red-eye flights for the simple fact that most people are sleeping and there is a stillness in both the cabin and in the air. There is a quiet that high in the sky that is calming at least enough to make you forget that there is nothing about that metal contraption that says light and airy.
You have risen above the noise of everyday life and often the stressors of life, if only momentarily. Then you land and it all comes flooding back in.
You can live in that place of peace without having to hop on a 747. It’s the place of rest that Jesus invites us into. (Matthew 11:28) If you are anything like me, with control issues, it’s not an easy place to enter. I just want to control outcomes which makes me weary and burdened when I can’t which makes me want to control more. It’s a vicious cycle.
This cycle creates a level of noise that can drown out the voice of God. Jesus is saying come, I have a place of peace for that noise, but the noise is saying we don’t know what that place of peace is like. We much prefer controlled chaos.
So breaking the cycle requires a few steps on our part:
We must grow tired of how loud it is. It’s the only way we will do something different.
We must surrender our control issues. It’s the only way we will trust God with them. (yes, in that order)
We must acknowledge we are weary and burdened. It’s the only way we will come to Him.
We must enter true rest. It’s the only way we Rise About the Noise.
