Feeding the multitude of people, who followed Jesus to hear His wisdom, and collecting the 12 baskets full of leftovers was an exhausting chore for His disciples. Jesus saw the weariness in His disciples’ countenance and felt compassion for them. He invited them to come with Him to a quiet place of rest (Mark 13:1).
We have a standing invitation from Jesus to come away with Him to a tranquil place (Matthew 11:28). The first step of entering this utopian state of existence is to silence the “to do” list in our head, to say “no” to more busyness knocking at our door, and to fixing something simple for dinner rather than a big, involved meal.
Storms often have a way of clearing the air, removing debris from our yard, tearing down limbs and branches that are broken or rotting, blowing away dead leaves that are smothering new growth. God is the God of the valley, the storms, and the sunny days that ultimately return.
We can always trust God in our trials. We may be exposed to the elements and suffering in unimaginable ways, but He is always right with us, in us, and all around us. Through every issue we learn to see Him in a new light, and to gratefully expect Him to provide for us in the midst of our concerns (Isaiah 43:2).
Storms force us to change our focus from what is seen to what is not seen. We stop relying on our human resources and trust in our benevolent, competent, and trustworthy Father God. God uses trials to increase our endurance, and to make future matters less scary due to our increased faith in Him (Romans 5:3).
Taking time to refuel in God’s presence is the best gift we can ever give to our self. We have to give our soul time to rest, to catch up with our hectic schedule. In fact, if we make simpler choices in the future, we can learn to continually abide in God’s rest. We start by listening to His Spirit and committing our life to doing His will instead of our own.
Prayer:
Father God, remind us to focus on these truths that we all have in common, rather than on the insignificant details, which we choose to allow to separate us from one another. Help us to realize that the multitude of protestant religions and the treatment that many visitors and even members of any particular church family receive from one another is a poor example to the unbelieving world all around us (Psalm 133:1).
At times, we are burdened by all the cares of this world, our responsibility in it, and the expectations that other people place on us. We forget that You, our Heavenly Father, care for us implicitly and that You invite us to take Your yoke, which is easy and light (Matthew 11:28-30). This way, the weight of our load is eased, because we partner with You, and You share it with us.
Thought for the Day:
As adopted children of God, we enter into His rest and find our joy and delight in doing His will for us; we make a list of all of our responsibilities and prayerfully find out which of them is actually part of His perfect plan designed specifically for our gifts and talents; then we separate our self from the clutter all around us.
- Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians chapters 12-14
