The Weight of a Fresh Calendar
A fresh paper planner smells like anxiety. It's the feeling that if you can just organize the boxes right, you can finally become the person you were supposed to be last year. But I'm tired of throwing away unused planners. I want this year to be new.
Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
In Jesus' day, the religious teachers kept burdening people with more and more requirements to make God happy. Today, we hire life coaches to do the same thing. I've tried to use Jesus like a personal trainer. I've even turned discipleship into a spiritual competition: who can make the most radical sacrifices? It wasn't until my body said "Stop!" louder than my soul said "Go!" that I learned a humbling lesson. I was wearing myself out trying to please a God who is already pleased. We're wired to think that rest is the reward for work. Crush our goals, eat our macros, grind it at the gym, and then we've earned our mimosas at Sunday brunch. Jesus flips the sequence. He doesn't say, "Get it together, then come." He says, "Come to me, you who are weary." Jesus isn't just the trophy at the end of the marathon; he's also the water station at the beginning. He is with us at every stage of the journey. Are you starting a new year already tired? I am. Jesus doesn't snap the whip and say "Perform!" He is humble and gentle, not proud and harsh. If we choose to be with him, he will make us like him. That's the good life we've been looking for. Start this New Year by noticing what God is making new in you, not what you feel pressured to manufacture for him.
Reflection Questions
What's your honest reaction to the new year? Do you feel hope, pressure, dread, exhaustion, or something else?
Jesus says his burden is "light." Does your experience of following him feel light, or does it feel like another job?
What's one heavy thing you're carrying into this year that Jesus hasn't asked you to hold on to?
One Thing to Try
Set a timer for 3 minutes. Sit in a chair with your phone off in another room. Place your hands on your knees with your palms facing up. This is the posture of a child waiting for a gift. Tell God, "I have nothing to prove this year. I only want to notice what new things you are doing in my life." Sit in silence. Experience his easy yoke and light burden. When the timer goes off, reach out to a friend and tell them one way you're experiencing God's rest.