I’m weary, how about you?

“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

How to Use This Mini Devotional

• Set aside 15-20 minutes each evening or morning to reflect
• Write freely without editing or judging your responses
• Pray over your answers, inviting God into your process

Remember: There are no “right” answers. These questions are companions on the way home to yourself and to God.

The world exhausts us. The endless demands, the scrolling, the trying to keep up, the pressure to be more and do more. It all wears us down until we’re running on empty. We carry everyone else’s crises, constantly compare ourselves, and wonder why we never feel like we’re enough. Into all this tiredness, Matthew 11:28-30 offers something different: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Not “work harder” or “sort yourself out”, just come. Jesus doesn’t add to our load; he offers to carry it with us. It’s a shift from striving to simply being with him, from performing to resting, from doing it all alone to letting someone help. In a world that never stops asking more of us, this invitation to rest is uncommon. It’s permission to put down what we were never meant to carry ourselves.

One of my deepest prayers in 2024 was to carry my life lightly. To walk more humbly with the Spirit, to surrender what was not mine to hold. As I stepped into 2025, I had a sense that this year-long desire and focus on lighter was about to shift everything and every way that I entered this world. This year, the things I held onto the dearest have been reframed, and I find myself resting more into the simple things rather than the shoulds of the world.

The interesting thing about trying to control the outcomes of our daily lives, our businesses, careers, children, partners, communities, friends, and futures is that the tighter we hold them, the more complex our relationship with them becomes.

The beauty of surrender, a detachment from the outcome of our prayers and our relationships, is they thrive in new ways.

Matthew 11:28-30 comes at a significant moment in Jesus’ ministry. Just before this invitation, Jesus has been facing rejection and criticism. The religious leaders are pushing back against him, cities where he performed miracles are refusing to repent, and John the Baptist (now in prison) is questioning whether Jesus really is the Messiah. Then immediately after all this tension and rejection, he pivots to this tender invitation: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened.”

I know the world tells you who Jesus is, but this change in the story, from facing persecution to being the one who sits in the suffering with humanity, with an arm outstretched in connection and also with help. I am not really good at asking for help. As I sit here writing today, I need to go to the doctors for help, and I really don’t want to. It’s embarrassing to admit you don’t have your ducks in a row. I find it so awkward to accept the uncomfortable truth that I can’t tie the shoelaces of my priorities together.

The “weary and burdened” would have resonated deeply with his audience. The religious leaders had loaded people down with hundreds of rules and regulations – the “yoke” of the law had become unbearably heavy. People were exhausted trying to measure up, trying to be righteous enough, trying to follow every requirement. They were spiritually depleted. I come back to this scripture at the end of every year, and I hear the world singing “O Holy Night”. The weary ones who admit they cannot do it all—the surrender of honesty and dismay.

Jesus offers an entirely different yoke; his yoke is “easy”, and his burden is “light.” He’s not adding more rules; he’s offering relationship, rest, and grace. Where the religious system demanded and exhausted, Jesus invites and restores. It’s an invitation born of rejection, but offered with compassion to those crushed by religious performance.

We each need Christ’s compassion, whether we admit it or not.

Here are some journalling questions for you this December:

Question 1: Presence

What feels heavy in my heart today?

Notice the moments when you felt most burdened, most aware, and anxious today. What does it mean for you to hand this burden over to God?

This could be in silence, in nature, in a scripture verse, or in an unexpected moment of clarity.

Question 2: Authentic Connection

When did I feel most connected today?

Identify the activities, thoughts, or experiences where you felt most connected, where you weren’t performing, hiding, or trying to be someone you’re not.

What was different about these moments?

Question 3: Release

What am I ready to let go of today?

Each day brings new awareness of what no longer serves you. What belief, emotion, story, or burden are you ready to release into God’s hands?

Name it specifically and offer it up.

Question 4: Gratitude

What unexpected gift did this day hold?

Look for the surprises; small moments of beauty, insight, connection, or grace that you didn’t anticipate.

What made you pause? What brought unexpected joy or peace?

Question 5: Becoming

How is God inviting me forward?

Based on today’s reflections, insights, and experiences, what is one small way you sense God calling you to grow, change, or step into your becoming?

What feels both exciting and slightly scary?

I’d love to unpack these concepts with you in an online journaling room.

The next opportunity is: Book your place today.