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Verse:I will give you rest. —Matthew 11:28, KJV
The world is full of stressors today. The devil is angry and on the offensive because he knows that he has but a short time (see Revelation 12:12).
People are angry and irritable and need only half an excuse to explode. Even in churches this irritability is demonstrated in the way we tend to deal impatiently and unkindly with each other. The world is on edge. We have lost the graces that once defined us as Christians. The world prizes blunt speech, passion, and rage. It is baptized as confidence and assertiveness. People do not care how many lives they have to trample over to get what they want. Profit and personal gain are the bottom lines. “The end justifies the means” is the ruling philosophy. Jesus knows this experience very well. He was reviled by those he had come to save.
“When he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (1 Peter 2:23, KJV). The apostle Paul counsels us that when we are reviled and verbally abused, instead of being reactive, we should bless others. When we are persecuted, we should endure it with patience (see 1 Corinthians 4:12). Jesus is our example and the only effective antidote for a stressed world. “A Christian reveals true humility by showing the gentleness of Christ, by being always ready to help others, by speaking kind words and performing unselfish acts, which elevate and ennoble the most sacred message that has come to our world.”* The psalmist reminds us, “Great peace have they which love thy law; and nothing shall offend them” (Psalm 119:165, KJV).
May this peace fill our lives as we determine not to allow things to so easily offend us. Let us have the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that is precious in the eyes of God. Dear sisters, Jesus in us is the cure for all sinful conditions: selfishness, a quick temper, a competitive spirit, and a superiority complex. He is the ultimate antidote for the stress of this world. He invites us to open our hearts to Him so that He may come in and dwell with us. His invitation is given to all: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, KJV). How will we respond today?
Minsozi Sibeso-Mweemba
* Ellen G. White, Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press®, 1922), 74.