Christ is not only the believers' peace and joy but also their rest. In Matthew 11:28 the Lord Jesus called people, saying, "Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest." The toil spoken of in this verse refers not only to the toil of striving to keep the commandments of the law and religious regulations but also to the toil of struggling to be successful in any work. Whoever toils thus is always heavily burdened. The Lord called such toiling ones to come to Him for rest. Rest refers not only to being set free from the toil and burden under the law and religion or under any work or responsibility, but also to perfect peace and full satisfaction.
Then the Lord showed us the way to rest. He said, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (v. 29). To take the Lord's yoke is to take the will of the Father. It is not to be regulated or controlled by any obligation of the law or religion or to be enslaved by any work, but to be constrained by the will of the Father. The Lord lived such a life, caring for nothing but the will of His Father (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38). He submitted Himself fully to the Father's will (Matt. 26:39, 42). Therefore, He asks us to learn from Him, the One who is meek and lowly in heart. He did not resist any opposition, nor did He esteem Himself highly. In all the opposition He was meek, and in all the rejection He was lowly. He submitted Himself fully to the will of His Father, not wanting to do anything for Himself or expecting to gain something for Himself. Hence, no matter what the situation was, He had rest in His heart. He was fully satisfied with His Father's will.
If we take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, we will find rest for our souls. This is an inward rest. If we are opposed as we minister, and we resist, we will not have peace. But if instead of resisting we learn from the Lord and submit to the will of the Father, we will have rest in our souls; that is, we will enjoy the indwelling Christ as the rest in our deepest part.
As the portion of the saints, Christ is our spiritual food, the true bread of life sent by God as our daily life supply for our journey. He is also the rock flowing with the spiritual drink. He was smitten and cleft for us on the cross to flow out the water of life; now He is always following us to quench our thirst. He is also the light. By His being our life and by His speaking to us, He shines within us that we may live in the light. He is also the way, the living way for us to enter into God the Father, the living person; through Him we are able to get into the Father. He is also the reality. He is God coming to be our reality and the reality of all the divine and spiritual things for our possession and enjoyment. He is also the hope of glory. He dwells in our spirit to be our life and person; eventually, He will saturate our entire being and cause our body to be transfigured unto the full expression of God. He is also the peace. Through His accomplished redemption, He removed the separation between the believers that they may be one with one another. Furthermore, He is in us to be our peace that we may overcome all troubles, fears, and persecutions. He is also our joy. When He abides in us, His joy abides in us to be the source of our joy that our joy may abound and become full and that we may live our days with joy. He is also the rest. He enables all those who toil and are burdened to be set free and to enjoy perfect peace and satisfaction; if we take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, we will find rest for our souls.