Come Unto Me and I Will Give You Rest!
At life's toughest moments—when we're in the fire—we can take comfort knowing God is with us and can take care of our burdens.
"Come Unto Me" is a song written in 1908 by Charles P. Jones, who authored over 1,000 hymns. Here is a line from the song: “Hear the blessed Savior calling the oppressed; 'Oh, ye heavy-laden, come to Me and rest; Come, no longer tarry, I your load will bear; Bring Me every burden, bring Me every care.”
In Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (New International Version). How wonderful is God that He wants us to come to Him and lay our burdens down. Paul similarly wrote: “Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6, NIV). That is not so easy to do when you are "going through the fire."
There were three men who literally went through the fire: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego! They were brought before the King of Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar said to them: "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But, if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?" (Daniel 3:14-15, NIV).
Of course they would not bend to the king. They chose to obey God no matter what. They were thrown into the furnace.
Then Nebuchadnezzar's attention was caught when he heard the men singing praises in the furnace (Daniel 3:24). It sure is hard when we are going through a fiery trial to sing praises to God, but these men did! God protected them!
The king looked into the fiery furnace and saw not just the three men, but a figure of another walking with them.
“Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, ‘Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?’ They replied, ‘Certainly, your majesty.’ He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods’” (Daniel 3:24-25, NIV).
One more amazing point was that all three men were securely bound and tied and then thrown into the furnace. When the king looked, they were freely walking around. Trials can make you feel so tied up and bound and that there is no way out! But God will walk with you in whatever you are going through.
God may not intervene immediately in your life, but He will do for you just like He did for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego! He will give you strength and will calm you while you go through your fiery furnace of trials. He will walk with you!
If God helped these men in the most difficult times of their lives, can He not also help you? The key is to go to God and cast your cares on Him, and He will give you rest! You are as important as any of the great men in the Bible. Why? Because He cares deeply for you!
Course Content
Janet Treadway
Janet Treadway was born in Washington, D.C., but was raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. She started attending the Church of God with her mother at the age of 14 along with her twin brother, Jim.
She was baptized at the age of 19 in 1974. She has been involved in various activities, such as serving as the managing editor of UCG’s first teen magazine UsTeens, which was distributed worldwide and published in English and Spanish.
Janet’s first love is writing. She has contributed many articles in various publications such as Vertical Thought, Virtual Christian Magazine, United News and others. Her article “Take Action, Your Life May Depend on It” is also featured in the reprint “The Cycle of Abuse.” Janet draws from her own life’s experiences and challenges when she writes and is motivated to give readers hope that God will see them through anything.
Janet has worked in the home office of the United Church of God since 1998. She is married to Charles Treadway and has four children, David, Michelle, Michael and Josh, as well as six grandchildren and two granddogs, Jo Jo and Vinny.
