Matthew 11:28 – 30 (MSG) “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
I was talking to a friend of mine a few days ago and we both talked about utterly exhausted we both were. I think mine was just front trying to get my son ready to go back to school last week…but she is in a much tougher season. She is having to carry the heavy weight of a coworker who is out for an extended period of time. My friend feels so overwhelmed and tired. She told me she feels like she’s at the bottom of a pit frantically trying to dig herself out, only to no avail.
I know I’ve been there a time or two. I feel like I’m at the bottom of a dark pit. So I do nothing. Sitting idly by, afraid to move. Have you ever been there?
My mind wandered back to a hot summer day a few years back. Kids in the neighborhood came running up with a frog they had found near the pond in their yard. Wanting to keep the frog as a pet, the children soon found a container, filled it with pond water, and placed the frog inside. The frog was literally frozen in place. As I sat there looking at the frog, I wondered “why doesn’t he just jump out of the container?”
As I watched the frog suspended in mid-pond water the words of Matthew 11:28 – 30 flooded my thoughts. “Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.” When my life get’s so nuts that I find myself at the bottom of a pit, I know it’s because I have forgotten to put Jesus at the center of my day. It is in these moments that I have to remember to take the time to “get away with Jesus” and give Him everything.
God never intended for us to be exhausted and overwhelmed. He doesn’t lay heavy burdens on us; we tend to do that all on our own. Instead, He wants us to bring our cares and burdens to Him so He can replace them with rest and abundant life.
“God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.” Psalm 23: 1-3 (MSG)
Perhaps you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed right now. Call on Jesus. Give Him the “stuff” of your life that seems to be weighing you down. Allow Him to exchange the stress and exhaustion with lush meadows and quiet pools of living water.
You can also let the frog be a reminder…
F – fully
R – rely
O – on
G – God
On the drive home, my son was sifting through the bucket’s content. He pulled out a little party favor bag with a home-made tag attached. At a stop light, I began to read the tag and quickly realized this wasn’t any old party bag, it was a “First Grade Survival Kit” and each gift inside had a very special meaning. What a thoughtful gift. I began to read the list of gifts and their meaning out loud to my son but didn’t get very far. The words of the first line rendered me speechless so much that my eyes welled up with tears and I was instantly overcome with emotion. Of course this didn’t go over very well with my son. He wanted to know what it said, but I couldn’t speak.
Jesus saw a big crowd gathering and knew the people must be hungry. “Philip,” Jesus said “where are we going to buy the people something to eat?”
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