It's All Good: 12 Devotions to Embrace Your NowSample

Emotional Margin

"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." MATTHEW 11:28 NIV

In order for someone to give you a gift, you need to receive it. Any holiday celebration that comes with gifts involves this process of giving and receiving. What would happen to the gifts at Christmas if no one received them or opened them? They would simply pile up, unused and unenjoyed.

I love giving gifts. I love seeing the excitement on the recipients’ faces. I take pleasure in seeing them light up at what I picked out for them. How would you feel if you took the time to personalize a gift for someone and they just opened it and set it to the side? Didn’t even smile? This actually happened to me. After the third or fourth time, you’d better believe I started buying gift cards for holidays and birthdays. I didn’t see the point in choosing a gift, wrapping it, and giving it to someone who didn’t even show gratitude or joy after receiving it. A gift card was much simpler and didn’t leave me feeling disappointed when there was no appreciation or delight.

Jesus offers each of us a gift. He’s painstakingly picked it out and paid for it with a high price. He gives us many gifts, actually, but one of the best gifts is His gift of rest. Yet in order for Jesus to give you rest, you have to receive it. He doesn’t just drop “rest” off on your front porch like a delivery driver. He hands it to you. But it’s up to you to receive it. It’s your choice whether you turn your heart and mind away from everything inside of you and take what He offers. It’s also your choice how you respond—with ambivalence, entitlement, or delight. He’s watching, and your response matters to Him. Your smile makes Jesus smile.

Jesus enables you to live a present life by offering the gift of emotional margin: rest. He takes the heaviness and burdens you feel upon Himself, freeing up space in your soul. He cleans your emotional clutter. When you receive Jesus’ gift of rest, you can focus on living your life rather than letting your life dictate your days and duties to you. This rest comes in surrendering to your identity in Christ and focusing on Him instead of yourself and the thoughts whirling within you. Receive His rest, and you’ll be able to enjoy the good life.

Jesus, thank You for the great gift of rest that I find when I identify with You and Your purpose and provision for my life. Amen.