Real Rest Is for the Childlike

It’s audio devo day!

Are you weary? Your Good Shepherd has wonderful provisions of rest for you. Let’s soak together in one of the most important passages the Bible has for us about this. I know He wants to minister to you, as you listen here:

(Encouraged by this? Know someone else that needs to hear it today? You can either share today’s blog link with them, or look up my Feeding on Jesus podcast for sharing and subscribing. You’ll find it at these links on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and most other podcast platforms, with episodes identical to these audio devos!)

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Does your soul feel tired? Jesus has deep, lasting restfulness to impart to you. Last week we wrapped up our series on loving ourselves as Jesus loves us, talking about the vital importance of building rest and play into our lifestyles. There’s a lot more He wants to say to our hearts about His rest, so today we are going to start a whole new series on this subject.

Last week we considered the physical dimension of rest, where we intentionally, habitually carve out time to allow our bodies to recuperate. Today, let’s dive into the spiritual dimension of rest. Physical rest is one thing, but it’s when our hearts are at rest in Him that we truly come into the fullness of rest. To do this, we are going to take some time and marinate together in one of the most important passages the Bible has for us on this subject. This is a little bit longer of a passage than what I usually read to you, but I want to really encourage you to focus in on receiving each phrase into your spirit right now:

“At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: ‘O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way! My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light’” (Matt. 11:25-30, NLT).

Dear friend, there is so much here that is going to help take your heart deeper into a place of rest in Him. So let’s continuing soaking in this passage, a verse at a time.

Verse 25: “At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: ‘O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.’” If you’ve been a Christian for a while, I bet you have heard our Scripture passage for today quoted over and over, beginning with Jesus words, “Come to Me, all you who are weary…” But how many times have you heard it quoted starting here at His prayer to the Father?

The first thing to notice is the context for Jesus’ invitation to find rest. It is right here where He thanks Daddy God for revealing His truth exclusively to the childlike. Here we find our first two keys for learning how to rest spiritually: Number one, this learning is going to come through direct revelations from Daddy. As He pours His own wisdom and understanding into our hearts, this will draw us deeper into heart rest.

And number two, these revelations are going to come through childlike trust and dependency. Only the childlike are in on such special privileges. We must change and become like children if we are longing for Him to share deeper revelation with us! In fact, if we insist on thinking of ourselves as wise enough to run our own lives and make our own decisions without His input, this will be a block to the flow of His revelation. We learn here that the Father hides the most important wisdom from those who insist on self-reliance. Only the childlike receive the very best revelation of His heart.

Take a look now at the next verse. “Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way!” (v. 26). Can you feel Jesus’ heart here as He spoke with His Father? He was so intimate with His Father that He could feel His Daddy’s emotions. Here, he was picking up on Daddy’s sheer joy about this arrangement of sharing with the childlike. The Father’s joy was moving Him so much that He burst out with an exclamation about it. “Daddy, how pleasing this is to You!” Truly, the more childlike we become, the more this delights Him. And how He loves sharing His heart with those who will trust Him with the simplicity of a child! It pleases Him exceedingly for us to live utterly dependent on Him, and utterly trusting of His nature. Without question, childlikeness is the equivalent of Christian maturity. Growing up in Him means growing down. And when we move into these realms, it also pleases Him exceedingly to pour out new depths of revelation to us.

Let’s go a little deeper. What type of revelation, exactly, is Jesus talking about here? We find the answer to this in verse 29: “…learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart” (KJV). He is talking about revelation of His very own nature. As we go deeper into trust and deeper into dependency, we go deeper into revelation of who He is. We learn of Him. We come to know deep in our spirits how gentle and humble His heart is. What’s more… the more we get to know this essence of His personality, the deeper our hearts move into a permanent restfulness. Truly knowing Him puts our souls at rest.

So you see, my friend, the deepest, most permanent kind of heart rest comes exclusively to the childlike. Do you long for this kind of rest that He offers? Today, come unto Him. Surrender to Him your need to have it all figured out. Surrender to Him any and all tendencies to rely heavily on yourself. As we talked about last week, just lie down, let Him drive, and enjoy the ride in His intimate company. Grow up into childlikeness. As you pursue a lifestyle of simple trust and utter dependency on Him, you will find His revelation flowing to your deep heart in greater and greater ways. As you learn experientially of His nature, your heart will find its home in His rest.

Come unto Him today as His little one. You truly will find rest for your soul!

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Well, my friend, we didn’t yet get through all the riches of this passage on heart rest. Make sure and tune in next week, and we will finish our soak together in all the luxurious revelation He wants to give us on the matter.

Have you tasted of the heart rest that Jesus offers us? If so, what are your personal observations about it?