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.”
I think everyone has had a moment where IF …. THEN pops into our mind. If this situation were this way, then I’d be happier. If they wouldn’t do XYZ, then I’d have more peace. In situations like this, we have to sit back and ask, “Where is my heart?”. “Am I addressing this in the best way?” Life can get overwhelming at times. During this time, we tend to fantasize about a perfect reality. When in reality, we have to understand that there is someone we can turn to who has a plan that we can’t fathom. Not only does He have a plan, but he provides rest as that plan unfolds.
Have we embraced the struggle over the Savior? Have we embraced the treachery over the Truth? What mindset do we have during times of challenge? Do we have the mind of Christ? If you are struggling to have peace, if you are weary, burdened, then you have not given things over to God so that you can actually accept the mind and the plan of Christ.
Think of it this way. A young child is riding their bike for the first time. They are excited, they are nervous, but mostly they are eager to not fall. The father is yelling to the child to pay attention to the road in front of them. Only when they take off for the first time they are excited and go full force. They end up running over a rock in the road that they didn’t see. They yell and scream and complain about the rock being in the road. Now they have scratches all over their legs and they feel ashamed. So they say to their Father,” Daddy, if the rock hadn’t have been there, then I wouldn’t have fallen! It’s the rock’s fault Daddy!”
The Father gently takes the child in His arms, take them inside to attend the wounds with love and begins to speak to the child with wisdom. “My child, you don’t have to be ashamed. I know that you are still learning. I’m so proud of you for even trying. It’s not the rock’s fault, but this is a lesson for you to learn how to avoid the rocks in the future. I can show you how. Now the question is, do you want to learn from me and get back out there?”
Notice how blame came after shame. It’s a lesson for us to give everything over to God even when it means facing our mistakes or insecurities. It’s honestly what we go through too often when life throws us a curveball or when there is a rock in our path. We must first run to our father, listen to his wisdom, allow Him to fix our wounds, and get back up.
Dear Father, thank you for being my Father. I ask the Lord for your forgiveness for not coming to you when I was in trouble. I ask for forgiveness when I blamed the situation and didn’t trust in you. Lord help me to surrender to you. Help to cast my cares and my burdens over to you. I surrender to you, Lord. In Jesus name.