robe of rest

An invitation to remove the cloak of heaviness and put on the robe of rest.

Isaiah 61:10 

I delight greatly in the Lord;

my soul rejoices in my God.

For he has clothed me with garments of salvation

and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,

as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,

and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

At the end of the day, it’s hard not to carry our burdens home with us. They cling to us like shadows, embedded in the furrows of our brows, a visible weight that invites questioning glances from strangers. We drag them into our homes, believing that we’ve dropped them like heavy bags at the door, yet they somehow still remain strapped to our backs, pressing down on us as we try to relax.

We wear our burdens like a heavy cloak draped across our shoulders, weighing us down through each and every step. It’s a cloak we’ve grown so accustomed to that we hardly notice its pull. It’s become familiar - this relentless pressure on our shoulders, one we’ve carried for so long that it begins to feel like a part of us. But with that familiarity comes blindness. We fail to recognise how this cloak constricts us, how it makes each breath a struggle. We shuffle under its weight, shoulders growing weaker and spirit growing faint. We move more slowly, our energy depleted, frustration leaking out in tense words or cold silence that seeps into the spaces we share with those we love.

This cloak—laden with stress, regret, worry and disappointment—is suffocating. It's a weight that grows heavier each day that it's worn.

But what if I told you that this burden, no matter how heavy it becomes, could be easily removed? That the stress and worry you’ve been dragging home could be put down and left behind – like an old, worn garment stripped from you at the end of a long day.

At the end of each day, I feel that weight settle over me—the invisible cloak of the day’s frustrations, the anxieties that claw at the edges of my mind, the disappointments that seep into my bones. It wants to come home with me, to cling to my spirit as I try and rest; but I’ve learned to say no.

With a deliberate motion, I brush my hands along my arms, feeling the invisible weight lift. I peel off the cloak that is not mine to bear, handing it over to the One who offers true rest.

“Take these burdens from me,” I whisper, “so that I might find comfort for my soul.”

And as I release it, He drapes me instead in a garment as light as breath, woven with His grace and healing.

He gives me a cloak of righteousness – one that provides healing and authority over the injustices of the day and purity from all of my failures and mistakes.

He clothes me in a garment of praise, one that fills me with joy, gratitude, and contentment. It opens my heart to see the gifts I’ve been given, even on the hardest days.

He covers me with a robe of salvation, a garment of peace that leads me to still waters, inviting my soul to rest in green pastures.

This yoke is easy; this burden is light. It untangles me from the messes and stresses of the day, freeing me to walk in the freedom and light of His love.

So, when I feel the old weight pressing in again, when my breath grows shallow and my steps falter, I will remember: to take a deep breath and reach for His garment, choosing to shed the cloak of weariness and embrace the robe of rest.

Matthew 11:28-30

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”