“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
In today’s first reading, God tells Isaiah: “To whom will you compare me, that I should be like him? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary… He gives power to the faint… Even youths shall faint and be weary, young men shall fall exhausted, but they who wait for the Lord shall… run and never be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
The difference between God and our fellow human beings is that God is never tired. God never gets tired of doing good. He never gets tired of helping us; he is never tired of listening when we call on him. Our best friends may tire of helping us when our demands are too much, and even our parents or spouses may become irritated, but that’s never the case with God.
God is so strong that even those who trust Him become stronger than those who do not. Those who wait for the Lord never get tired. They never lose hope; they walk without fainting. Whatever the size of your problem, if it is causing you sleepless nights, it is because you have yet to surrender it trustingly to God.
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus says to us: “Come to me all you who labour and heavily laden, and I will give you rest… for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Are you restless? Bring the matter to Jesus. There is no problem that He cannot handle.
Why are you finding it difficult to pray? Do you feel that God is allowing you to suffer as a result of your sins? Remember, in yesterday’s Gospel passage, Jesus described God as a shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine in search of the one lost sheep. If God can abandon all the good people in the world to seek you out, why would he turn a deaf ear when you call out to Him?
Have you prayed about the problem, and your heart is still restless? Have you brought the matter to Jesus and yet to find rest for your soul? It means that you have refused to drop the burden at His feet. You are like a person who took a gift to a friend, showed the gift to the friend, but decided to take back the gift. What is the essence of praying if you refuse to relax and allow God to handle the situation?
Do you remember this song? “What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” God is bigger than your problem. You are just refusing to believe it.
Let us pray: Almighty, ever-living God, deepen my trust in you. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. Isaiah 40:25-31, Ps. 103:1-4,8,10, Matthew 11:28-30).
Pst Bill Francis Bill of Grace Dominion Assembly.