28 “ Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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.” Matt. 11:28-30
I love these verses. Those of you who read my writing on a consistent basis, know that I do! When I found them years ago, it was the first section caught my attention the most: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest." But it hasn't been until the last couple of years, that the next verse in that passage has truly become a treasure to me in learning, not just about rest, but truly how to find it.
Recently, one simple phrase from those verses has visited my mind over and over again. I hear it in my spirit when I'm frustrated. I hear it when my temper flares. I hear it when my day is oh soooo long. Learn from Me. Christ says, Learn from Me.
Sounds like I'm back in school, doesn't it? Well, maybe that's because I am! By using this phrase, Christ is trying to get me to understand that in order to receive the peace I so greatly desire, I have to do some homework. It's not good enough to simply get up and spend time with Him in the morning before life starts. This relationship - my surrendering to His lessons - has to be an all day long thing. I have to put pencil to paper - for peace. I have to learn from Him.
I've found the main help in learning from Christ consists of recognizing when my relationship with Him is in jeopardy. I'm not talking about eternal security. I'm talking about recognizing when sin is crouching at my door and about to pounce on me, thus hindering my ability to hear my Father's Words and let Him teach me.
For example, when I feel myself getting frustrated, and I hear those sweet Words of His - learn from Me - I CHOOSE to submit my anger to Him. I literally tell Him that I am angry, and I am sorry for my anger. I tell Him in my mind - and sometimes out loud - that my heart is not right before Him, and I need help. I submit myself. I bow my head and relinquish my right to myself. And when my anger subsides, I know I have learned from Him. That's when peace abounds and anger is replaced. It's strange indeed, but oh so amazingly true.
So I ask you today...are you learning from Him? Are you filled with the peace God promises or with frustration and anger? Then let me encourage you, to ask God for ears to hear Him. Ask Him to show you the sin that so easily entangles you. Ask Him to help you learn from Him, and then join me in study hall, and we'll do our homework together!
Thank You, Jesus. Thank You that You love to teach us Your will through Your Word. Thank You that You have provided ever instruction for godly living that we will ever need. Thank You that as we follow these instructions and learn from You, Your peace abounds in us. We love You, Jesus. We love You.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
God's On the Move
Yesterday while tending my garden, I spotted something in the middle of one of my rows that surprised me. It was a pea plant. Actually, there were three of them, all scattered in different places. I didn’t plant them there. I planted them on the top of the row, not the middle. I thought back and figured out what happened. A storm front came through a couple of days after I planted them. I remember being afraid that all the seeds would be washed away, but fortunately, I only lost a few...and then, evidently, found them!
I had to do something. I couldn’t just leave those little pea plants there in the middle of the row to be trampled on or tilled deep into the earth. So, I dug my hoe deep beside each one and carefully transplanted them on top of the row where they belonged. As I dug the last little plant, it seemed to scream at me: “But I’m happy here! I don’t want to go!”
Of course, it really didn’t scream at me, but it just looked so happy...so comfortable...so healthy, living there in the middle of the row. Hmmm....
I have to admit, many times when God wants to move me - whether it be a physical move (staying in a hotel and another home for the past 3 ½ months) or an emotional move (choosing to be joyful, when I really don’t feel like it), I don’t often respond well. I look at Him and whine, “But I’m comfortable here. I like it here. Please don’t move me. I don’t want to go!” And yet, what I say and what I need are two totally different things. Because you see, God sees what’s GOING to happen to me if I don’t move. He knows that the figurative feet of children and adults are headed my way, as I sit comfortably in the middle of the row. He also knows the tiller is coming, and that would be the ruin of my existence. He knows these things, and I don’t. He sees them and I don’t. He understands the perils of my remaining where I am, and I don’t.
So, what’s my alternative?
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Is. 43:18-19.
I know that God was speaking to the Israelites in this passage, but I think we can apply it to us, as well. God wants to do something “new” with us, too. He wants to make “ways” for us in our deserts and “streams” for us in our wastelands....even when we don’t want Him, too. He wants to take us to new places in our walks with Him...places we’ve never been before...amazing places full of life and abundance.
So, if God is moving you today...physically or emotionally...let Him do it. Instead of whining at Him and telling Him how much you don’t want to be moved, praise Him. Praise Him that He is in control and knows what’s headed down your path. Praise Him for His gentle hand and His loving touch. Praise Him that your “new place” will cause growth and produce fruit for you and for others around you. Choose to praise Him, my friend, in the “new things” and then watch as He opens up the “ways” in your deserts and gushes forth the “streams” in your wastelands.
Lord, we love you. Help us, Lord, to trust Your moving hand. Help us to fully comprehend the way You move us and realize that if we stay where we are, we will be of no use to anyone, including You. Strengthen our hands as we continue to work and our feet as we continue to walk in Your ways. We praise You, Father, for being sooooo very good. I praise You, Lord. Praise You.
I had to do something. I couldn’t just leave those little pea plants there in the middle of the row to be trampled on or tilled deep into the earth. So, I dug my hoe deep beside each one and carefully transplanted them on top of the row where they belonged. As I dug the last little plant, it seemed to scream at me: “But I’m happy here! I don’t want to go!”
Of course, it really didn’t scream at me, but it just looked so happy...so comfortable...so healthy, living there in the middle of the row. Hmmm....
I have to admit, many times when God wants to move me - whether it be a physical move (staying in a hotel and another home for the past 3 ½ months) or an emotional move (choosing to be joyful, when I really don’t feel like it), I don’t often respond well. I look at Him and whine, “But I’m comfortable here. I like it here. Please don’t move me. I don’t want to go!” And yet, what I say and what I need are two totally different things. Because you see, God sees what’s GOING to happen to me if I don’t move. He knows that the figurative feet of children and adults are headed my way, as I sit comfortably in the middle of the row. He also knows the tiller is coming, and that would be the ruin of my existence. He knows these things, and I don’t. He sees them and I don’t. He understands the perils of my remaining where I am, and I don’t.
So, what’s my alternative?
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Is. 43:18-19.
I know that God was speaking to the Israelites in this passage, but I think we can apply it to us, as well. God wants to do something “new” with us, too. He wants to make “ways” for us in our deserts and “streams” for us in our wastelands....even when we don’t want Him, too. He wants to take us to new places in our walks with Him...places we’ve never been before...amazing places full of life and abundance.
So, if God is moving you today...physically or emotionally...let Him do it. Instead of whining at Him and telling Him how much you don’t want to be moved, praise Him. Praise Him that He is in control and knows what’s headed down your path. Praise Him for His gentle hand and His loving touch. Praise Him that your “new place” will cause growth and produce fruit for you and for others around you. Choose to praise Him, my friend, in the “new things” and then watch as He opens up the “ways” in your deserts and gushes forth the “streams” in your wastelands.
Lord, we love you. Help us, Lord, to trust Your moving hand. Help us to fully comprehend the way You move us and realize that if we stay where we are, we will be of no use to anyone, including You. Strengthen our hands as we continue to work and our feet as we continue to walk in Your ways. We praise You, Father, for being sooooo very good. I praise You, Lord. Praise You.
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