Weary? What does God say?
Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
What? How can this be? Why don’t circumstances look this way? What am I doing wrong? Yep, that is it. You are doing. I am doing. We are “doing” our way into busy and tired, hard and heavy. Our doing is battling against Him doing and it becomes this frenetic dance of forces colliding instead of being in sync. It’s the salmon swimming upriver against the current instead of allowing or resting in the river of God and being, just being. It is, Yes Lord, with no but. It is surrendered. It is swallowing before speaking, smiling instead of judging. Loving when it hurts and forgiving again and again. It is watching I AM move on my behalf and believing again that He is more than enough to cover all the circumstances that are swirling. It is enough to Be still and know that I AM God. It is.
Psalm 23 is an incredible display of His glory for his name’s sake. God’s very character is what He wants us to see and enjoy. The Psalm 23 window opened when I could see that you, God, do all the work. You are my shepherd; I shall not want. You make me lie down and lead me and restore me. You guide me in paths of righteousness for your glory (for his name’s sake). Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil (my choice). Why? For you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You display your glory over me for your pleasure. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness (mercy) and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
So where does that lead the tired, the weary, the heavy laden, the broken hearted, the mangled, torn and worn bits of (me or) humanity? Only to you Lord. Without you is a mess. With you is often still messy but I believe it is on purpose for your glory and I am safe every time because you do. So what does messy on purpose mean to me? Messy on purpose means all the times I pray and the answer is different, or circumstances don’t line up with your word, or the timing doesn’t fit with my timing and many other downright “messy” things in life. It feels messy to me but when I believe it is messy on purpose it helps me rest differently. It helps me see you in the places that don’t match my ideas and I breathe knowing you are God over all and you’ve got this. “You do” just means I can trust you and you are faithful. I need to remind myself of these truths when I am in hard places. It is not easy. It is not fun. But you are good and you are faithful and I train myself to think on that when the going gets tough.
“Safe every time,” was a vision and word from the Lord. In turmoil in the midst of worship, I saw my husband up to bat on a baseball diamond. No matter what the pitcher threw, he got a hit and no matter where the ball went or how it was fielded, he was safe every time. In the natural, even when it looked like he was definitely going to be out, he was safe every time.
That is Daddy’s heart for us. It doesn’t make sense, it isn’t normal, it is not natural, but it is the extravagant love of God for us. No matter what it looks like, we are safe every time.
Why does knowing this matter to me? Because. The circumstances are often awful. The problems are big. The brokenness is debilitating. The bitterness is toxic. The anger is palatable. The heaviness and weariness and pressure are unbelievable. The lack and desperation and discouragement and disappointment are great. But my Daddy is bigger and when I choose to believe Him and recognize over and over again that the lies are not the truth, He will again and again show me His victory over circumstances. And in that swirl, when I remind myself that the God who said “Be Still and know that I Am God” is fighting for me, the peace that surpasses understanding (Phil 4:7) washes over me again and I hear him declare again, “You are safe every time.”
Yes Lord, your way. Thank you for your lavish attention, your favor and love and care. Thank you for your leading, and protecting, and abundant blessings. Yes Lord. I can see you in the midst and I say Yes Lord. It is the shimmery bits around the edges and already you have provided so beautifully. Come Lord. Fully, radically, wonderfully, thank you Lord. Thank you for the people you have placed in my heart in this season of our life. I thank you for your divine wisdom, for partnering hearts, for your love and gracious way of connecting community. Thank you, Lord. Thank you for being big, bold, beautiful you. For all your love and care. For showering us with your brilliant blessings, just for us and for so many others through us. I see it all lining up perfectly because of you and for your glory. Only you could have us positioned just right for right now. Yes Lord. I see places/times often for blessing. Thank you, Lord.
Excerpt from Loving and Faithful