My thoughts raced from one thing to another – but in a good way, in a happy way. (Have you ever been too blessed to sleep??)
After I got up in the morning, grabbed my coffee, said good morning to God, I opened my book to a new blank page and thought about what to write about. I stared at the page with a hundred great ideas yet the page remained blank. What if each day was a blank page? What if it were a brand new beginning? A fresh start? What if all our anxieties, emotions, thoughts, failures etc weren’t carried over from yesterday? What if things from yesterday, our unfinished to-do list, the things we coulda and shoulda done or done better didn’t haunt us? Did they really mean to say that or is it the way I took it? I wonder if I said that the right way? Maybe I should have been more clear? Blah blah blah… In Matthew 11:28 in the New Living Translation (NLT) Jesus says: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Do we not carry our past, our life, our disappointments, appointments, hopes and dreams around like a chain around our necks? Whether it’s the resentments we harbor or the things we failed to do or things that still need to be done? What if we actually chose to make each day new? To let go of that stuff that weighs us down? And yes, I know you’ve heard that before… so have I! And God knows (like He really DOES know!) that we try and try and try and try and try to do that... There are times and have been times in my life where I just get so freaking worn out with all the trying. It’s exhausting! It’s exhausting ‘trying’ all the time, it’s exhausting carrying the loads all the time, it’s exhausting never feeling like we’re getting anywhere… it’s just plain exhausting on every front – mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually! What on earth was God thinking when He said that?! But read what Jesus said again… Come to me and I will give you rest. Huh? What? I don’t get it… Come to me and I will give you rest. It’s so plain we often miss it! Lord knows I sure did and sadly sometimes still do! “Come to me and I will give you rest”. The ONLY thing we need to do is come to Him. That’s it. HE does the rest. He gives us rest. Ya ya… I know… there has to be more to it than that… I can hear what you’re saying! But I can only tell you from my own experience and from watching those around me… people who have dealt with what YOU are trying to deal with… that really is all there is to it… No catch, no hidden agenda, no loopholes. When I go to Jesus with whatever it is bothering me, wishing I could get over, do better at, be better at – literally anything at all – it’s like He’s saying “I’ve got this, you rest”. Once I truly grasp that, it’s like this peace comes over me and I’m literally at rest on the inside. My outside world and my circumstances may not have instantly changed, but something inside me has… I have peace. I’m at rest. I’m no longer troubled about who or what it was. God’s got this now and He’s just a lil’ bit bigger and more powerful than me (lol). I guarantee (oh, that’s a strong word – she must be serious here!) that the more of your troubles, worries, haunts and hopes that you give to Jesus, the more rest and peace you will have. The more you experience those, the more you will want them The more you want them, the more you’ll let go of. The more you let go of, the freer you will become inside. And the freer you are inside, the happier you will be! So, I encourage you, no matter what you are dealing with, struggling with or carrying… Seek God and give it to Jesus. Let Him do the work for you that you, in spite of your best efforts for possibly months or years or even decades, have not been able to do. That is where miracles happen my friend… Resting in Jesus. Make today a blank page and let the peace and rest found only in Christ fill it and be amazed at what He fills it with! |
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