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b'The sun descends on the horizon, and the thought comes: \\u201cDid I do a good enough job today\\u201d? Almost every night, I would evaluate this question. I realize now that this was kind of like asking myself: \\u201cDo I deserve to sleep?\\u201d Most days, my answer was no. And I would feel defeated, exhausted, and sad. Disappointed in myself. Desperate to try harder tomorrow.\\nBut then one day, this little parable caught my attention. Jesus is describing what the kingdom of heaven is like. As He\\u2019s been going around teaching and healing people in towns and villages near where He grew up, Jesus has been announcing \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153the kingdom of heaven has come near\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (Matthew 10:7). This is one of the parables Jesus told: \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It\\u2019s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it\\u2019s taller than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (Matthew 13:31-32).\\nThis last phrase caught my attention. Some translations use the word rest instead of nest. So this tree is a place where birds can rest. I really like that. God is providing a place of rest. And it\\u2019s a place we get to be part of. I get to rest, and I also get to invite others into this rest. But how is this possible? Do we only get to rest once we\\u2019ve done enough? No. That would actually be the opposite of good news. The truth is: rest is a gift from God. We can\\u2019t earn rest\\u2014we could never do enough. Jesus didn\\u2019t say, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Once you\\u2019ve fulfilled all the Father\\u2019s commands, and done a lot of things to bring glory to Him, then you can rest.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Nope. Jesus definitely didn\\u2019t say that. He actually made it pretty clear that the only one who could possibly fulfill all God\\u2019s commands\\u2026was Him (Matthew 5:17).\\nJesus did say, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Come 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\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus is the One who offers rest. He gives it freely to anyone who has put their trust in Him, believing that He died and rose back to life. His rest is always available to all His forgiven followers, including me. At the end of the day, I don\\u2019t need to ask myself: \\u201cDid I do enough?\\u201d Instead, I get to rest because Jesus has done enough, and I am His. \\u2022 Hannah Howe\\n\\u2022 Do you ever feel like you don\\u2019t deserve rest? If rest is a gift from Jesus, what might change?\\n \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Come to me\\u2026and I [Jesus] will give you rest.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Matthew 11:28 (CSB)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nExod.13.21-Exod.13.22|Num.9.15-Num.9.23|John.14.15-John.14.27'