“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

At its heart, very often when we feel stressed we often kick back and fantasize just being somewhere else. While we think we are fantasizing about a place, we are really fantasizing about a state of mind. We’re fantasizing what it would be like to be carefree, worry free, and relaxed. Intuitively, we all know that life is better relaxed. In fact, when Bill Gaultierre asked Dallas Willard — a spiritual titan, one of the greatest pastors, theologians, philosophers — “What’s the one word that you think best describes Jesus?” He responded, “relaxed!” Why? Because Jesus knew. It wasn’t naiveté; it wasn’t stupidity. Jesus was the smartest human being who has ever lived and he knew the faithfulness and the character of the Father. He knew he was doing God’s calling. Yes, he still got crucified, but God raised him from the dead to change the world.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me be relaxed in my life, right now. Help me rest in the easy yoke of Jesus not just when I’m on vacation, but right now.

REFLECTION: How can you practice being relaxed today?