Rest for Your Soul – Matthew 11:28–30 (part II)

Above all else, God desires a relationship with us. His invitation is clear: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened…” As we partner with Him through life’s burdens, we must remind ourselves that He is relational, not transactional.

Society has conditioned us to think transactionally. That means doing something and expecting something in return. For example, as early as elementary school, we were given grades based on performance – you do a good job, and you're rewarded with an A. As adults, we work hard and get compensated with money. The more you worked, the more money you got. Over time, you begin to believe your worth is tied to what you can do and produce, not who you are.

At least, that’s what started to happen to me.

Subconsciously, I started to believe that if I did good, served God, prayed, and fasted, I was immune to bad things happening to me. As a result, I became entitled and really struggled when hardships came my way. I began to ask why? After all I've done for God, why did He allow these bad things to happen to me?

Somewhere along the way, I've confused doing for God with being with God. If we're not careful, we can start operating through a spirit of entitlement. When things don't go our way, we start to blame God and distance ourselves from Him. In reality, it is by His grace that we are saved – not by our works (Ephesians 2:8-9). We serve God, pray, and fast as a desire to draw closer to Him, not as an exchange for His blessings. His blessings are an outpouring of His grace and mercy, not something we have earned.

God is a relational God. Not a transactional God.

He allows us to experience hardships, setbacks, and tribulations because He is sovereign and we live in a fallen world. We also have an enemy that prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). We are in constant spiritual warfare, and that is part of the struggle.

Being a Christian does not make us immune to hardship. Walking with God requires trust. If we already know the outcome and everything goes according to our plans, how can we truly trust God? It’s in trials and tribulations that our trust is tested.

Similarly, in our earthly relationships, everyone is there in your highest moments, but it’s in the hard moments that you know who is really there for you. It is when you have nothing to give, and yet they still stick around because they love you for you, not for what you can do for them.

God loves us so much that He allows us to go through trials to shape us, mature us, and draw us closer to Him, so that we may have deeper intimacy with Him. The constant challenge is whether we will continue to serve God amid hardships.

So rest knowing that the burdens you are experiencing right now are not a surprise to God. He works ALL things for our good (Romans 8:28). He desires a relationship with us, to be dependent on Him like the young oxen are to the seasoned oxen. Therefore, the goal is for our relationship with God to remain secure, and for us to be so confident in God that, whether good or bad things happen, we are not shaken.  

Key Verse

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Journal Prompts

• Lord, where are You inviting me to trust You more deeply?
  

• How does understanding salvation as a gift change the way you view yourself and God?

• How has God carried me through difficult seasons before?
  

• What areas of my life have become transactional rather than relational in my walk with God?