Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matt. 11:28-30
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.Simon Peter answered him, ”Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. John 6:67-68
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.“ Ps. 46:10
Dear Lord Jesus, I awoke early today laboring in heart and heavy laden for friends. Thus, your gracious words drip like honey from heaven; like mercy-manna delivered during a famine of hope; like the dew of grace descending on a parched field of discouragement. I praise you today for your burden-bearing love, your weariness-receiving heart, and your rest-giving generosity.
Of all the pains in life, the most draining, disheartening, and dangerous are relational pains. I’m watching that scenario unfold in some marriages and churches for which I have heart investment. The Day of being made perfect in love has never looked so good, or so necessary (1 Jn. 4:17).
We have helpful meds for physical pain; but for our pains of heart, we usually end up running away, numbing up, or checking out; or worse, reacting destructively.
Lord Jesus, I’m praying that your “gentle and lowly” heart will have a stilling and quieting effect in the hurt and chaos, on the finger pointing and blame shifting, on the rolling of cynical eyes and the hurling of painful words. Marriages and churches are your domain—your story, your bride, and your delight.
In the coming hours and days, may the gospel be more powerful than gossip; the bending of knees more noticeable than the hardening of hearts; and humble repentance more the norm than empty promises.
You will be exalted among the nations, one Day, Lord Jesus. There is no doubt about the end of your story, and ours. But in these present painful chapters, we long for the first fruits of the New City, the perfected relationships, and the sinless existence of life in the new heaven and new earth. So very Amen we pray, in your powerful and loving name.