Tag Archives: Matthew 11

Room to breathe

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When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid… It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in humans… Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord… I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation… Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures for ever.

(Ps 118. 5,6,8,19,21&29)

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls..”

(Jer 6.16)

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children… Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

(Matt 11.25&29)

In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.

(Ps 31.1,7&8)

I grew up in a house from whose windows one could see for many miles; could see the sea, distant hills and watch the weather moving across the landscape. In recent years that experience was gifted to me for a season, and how precious it was. Now I am back among buildings, with no distant horizons to gaze upon, and a sense of being hemmed in. The biblical picture of ‘a spacious place’ is therefore one with which I can strongly identify, as synonymous with the sweet rest which God gives his people as they depend on him.

To rest is to refrain from striving, and that is God’s gift to us in Jesus Christ. All our labours towards God are wasted time and effort, since nothing we do can achieve for us the deliverance and fulness which we desire. In Jesus, these things are offered to us freely, and in accepting them, we enter the inheritance of God’s children – which is rest from struggle, from futility, from fear, and the opportunity to live as we are designed to live.

We may certainly strive as believers to become more like our Lord, through studying his word and keeping in step with his Spirit. We also strive in his kingdom, to sow the seeds of gospel truth, to make disciples and to celebrate his goodness and unfailing love. But all these things are done from a basic position of resting, a freedom from anxiety and fear. Our labour is never worthless, and we are enabled for it by our Father in heaven. Our salvation does not depend upon it, and all we do is motivated by His love for us and our desire to respond to his generosity. We have nothing to prove.. how restful!

Thank you Lord for your covenant love, which endures for ever and is my inheritance. Thank you for calling me out of bondage into a spacious place, where I live in your presence, the object of your abundant care.

I am provided for, I need not strive; I can glimpse glories afar off, and walk in the light of your presence; I worship in the company of the redeemed, your people and in their company I walk in the old ways which you have appointed for our blessing. What bountiful gifts we receive from you!

You have won for your people the victory, and we follow in your triumph procession to inherit the land you have prepared for us, to know peace and perfect rest when the true King shall come in power. This is marvellous in our eyes, we rejoice to rest in you today, and worship you with glad hearts. Amen 

Not of my choosing..

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“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

(Luke 9.23&24)

“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.”

(Matthew 11. 28-30)

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are in agony. My soul is in anguish. How long O Lord, how long? Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love…The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer.

(Psalm 6.2-4,9)

When my late father was undergoing treatment for cancer, he discovered – much to his chagrin – that a great deal of the good temper and exemplary patience which he had enjoyed all his life had been due to his excellent health! When that health was undermined, he discovered that perhaps it was not so easy to be gentle, forbearing and always cheerful, and found a new sympathy with those whose health had never been good.. In the same way, a person who has never experienced real deprivation may lack sympathy for those who truly suffer from it, may not have compassion for their anxiety and may even judge them for a lack of hope and confidence..

God sees clearly those areas of our lives where we are most proud of ourselves, where our self-esteem is most deeply rooted, and where we are least dependent on his sustaining power. I believe that at times he permits those very dear things to be undermined, in order that we might learn to cling to him alone in a new and closer way, accepting that EVERYTHING we have is only ever a gift, which may be withdrawn, and which cannot be relied upon for our peace of mind and sense of worth. These things are in danger of becoming idols in our souls, displacing Christ from the place of pre-eminence which is his right, and weakening us in our life of faith and witness. It is grace when God in his wisdom chooses to uproot them.

I do not have permission to choose the cross which I am called to take up daily, and which requires me to deny, to silence those voices which cry out against God’s will and clamour for my own way in everything. Will I trust my God for this trial, this cross? Do I believe him, when he promises to sustain me through it, even to glorify himself in my life as I lean hard on his arm for strength? Am I willing perhaps NEVER to see how God uses my experience for good, but to believe that he will because he has promised it?

At the moment, I am experiencing a particular trial – a gentle undermining of my health which has gone on for over four years now, in various guises, preventing me from doing things which are important to me. My estimation of myself is diminished, I am tempted to despise the rather feeble person I am become, as I try to live within the limitations imposed by my body. Is God any less delighted with me as his daughter, because of these things? NO! Am I in any way less able to pray for his work, to witness to the saving power of Jesus Christ? NO! And yet, and yet, I fret and mourn for what cannot be, tempted to despair instead of rejoicing in all I am and have in Christ.

As my running shoes remain unused, and mountains remain untrodden, I am drawn to cling to my God, to pour out my regrets and fears to the God who knows and loves me so tenderly, who gave me a desire to run and climb in the first place! He knows the burden which he is asking me to bear at this time, he knows how much it is costing to pick up that cross daily and then to walk with it cheerfully.

When we bring our crosses into that loving presence – whatever they may be – we find one who knows how we struggle, and who himself bore burdens beyond our imagining . And he comes alongside to bear us, to draw the sting of anxiety and dread, to give us for every pang the sweetest assurance of his presence and love.

In our daily carrying of our individual crosses, may we find the fellowship we enjoy with Christ so dear, so sustaining, that the burden does indeed become light, since we bear it for his sake and with his strength. In our weakness, may his power be made abundantly plain, and our delight in his grace towards us grow ever greater!