Dericka Canada Cunningham, GBW Founder
July 12, 2021
This Week's Anchor
“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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11: 28-30 (NIV)
Hey y’all—again, I want to say welcome to the courageous women and supporters who have recently connected with Grounded Black Women during our launch! Let’s get in here for this week’s devotional topic and talk about REST. To be transparent, I am a strong advocate of rest and self-and soul-care not because I’ve always honored it, but because I’ve hit rock bottom a few times in my life as a result of not honoring it enough. As Black women, we can easily carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. This has been my experience personally, and I’ve witnessed the women in my life and many clients navigate this experience as well.
Many of us have been socialized into roles as the “strong” friend, the dependable sister/daughter, and the brave coworker while rest and care for ourselves remain at the bottom of our list (if on our list at all). For some, caring for yourself through rest may be viewed as a luxury but, in reality, it’s a necessity. It’s as important as breathing, and in the words of Audre Lorde, it’s even “self-preservation” and an “act of political warfare”. According to our good ole dictionary, rest is defined as “relief or freedom, especially from anything that wearies, troubles or disturbs.”—Did you know that rest is a part of us getting free?!
I recently started following a movement founded by a fellow Black woman called the Nap Ministry. In alignment with the sentiments of Audre Lorde and our dictionary, they reimagine rest as the foundation to liberation and resistance. This movement not only emphasizes the importance of physical rest but of collective mind, body, and soul rest. When I read Matthew 11, I believe this holistic understanding of rest is similarly conveyed. 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.” It seems quite straightforward, but if it’s this easy, why do so many of us struggle to find rest? Let’s break down these two verses to help us understand.
This scripture starts with telling us to “come”, but before you can even come to receive rest, you have to know that you are tired. This is where many of us get hung up because oftentimes we don’t know that we need rest until our bodies and minds give up on us. Acknowledging that we need rest requires self-awareness (understanding how our bodies tell us we’re tired) and humility (admitting that we’re tired sooner rather than later). Once we acknowledge our need for rest, Jesus tells us to come to Him. The great thing about God is that although coming to Him requires the willingness to get in His presence and a surrendering of our needs, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Coming to God for 10 minutes once this week is better than not entering His presence at all. He’s waiting for you (any moment with you), and He can carry the load of your life more easily than you can. Verse 29 starts with offering us to take His yoke upon us (Yoke: a harness used to ease the work of hauling a load). Receiving help requires a degree of vulnerability that can be understandably difficult for many of us. However, God has the rest that you need if you will simply accept it. Lastly, He invites us to learn from Him—search God, hear His words, take them in, and open yourself to be filled with His presence and relationship. And you will find rest.
There isn’t a thing, place, or person in this world that will give you rest like Jesus. When we rest in Jesus, we not only get rest from that which exhausts and burdens us, but we get to rest in so much more. RESTing in Jesus gives us:
Relief, restoration, renewal, rejuvenation
Encouragement, energy, empowerment, enlivenment
Sustenance, solace, support, security
Transformation, truth, triumph, trust
You know that relief you feel when you finally fall into your bed after a long day? You can have this same freedom and comfort for your entire life with Jesus. Fall into His arms through prayer, devotion, song, or in whatever way you connect with Him, and rest in His Presence today.
Reflection
What is resonating for you about this scripture and/or this devotion?
What does rest look like for you? What, if anything, gets in the way of you finding rest? What do you need from God to help you rest?
What intention(s) do you want to set to connect and/or reconnect with rest and being grounded this week?
Related Scriptures to Ground You Through this Week
Isaiah 40:28-31
Hebrews 4:9-11
2 Corinthians 4:1-18
Jeremiah 31:25
Psalms 23:1-6
Philippians 4:4-7
My Through-the-Week Reflection Guide
A Song of Inspiration
Quote of Love & Liberation
“Rest is a beautiful interruption in a world that has no pause button.”
Comments