Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28.

Perhaps you're like me. Perhaps you originally came to Jesus and felt great freedom as He eased your load. But maybe, over the course of the journey with Him, your burdens piled up and you lost your joy. It happens so easily: we unconsciously lose our focus on Christ and begin to look to ourselves. We distractedly go through the routines of the "Christian life," whatever that is, depending on our own strength, discipline, and works. When that happens, the world goes gray. The bright colors and fun vitality of an intimate relationship with Jesus fade to an anxious, resentful, weary, and burdened religious life: the very thing Jesus came to free people from. Yet, embedded within Jesus' call to "Come to Me" is a progression of verbs that actually lead to the result of rest. Wonderful, real rest for our souls. And if you have a strange brain like me, these verbs happen to sound a lot like dog commands. I'm not suggesting that we're all retrievers or poodles or border collies . . . but I am saying that there is a certain frisky love, power, and freedom in obedience that is unleashed when we respond to Jesus' invitation and learn to obey the commands of the Master. Come. Sit. Stay. When we obey these commands, the rich result is rest. This rest can change our lives." - author Ellen Vaughn