Have you ever experienced what it is like to have a weary soul? Do you know what it’s like to feel the pressure of a heavy burden when you are weighed down by life’s circumstances? I know both of these realities very well because I have walked through many fiery trials in my life. In the recent past I found myself wanting to put my face in my pillow and weep because my circumstances seemed too overwhelming to bear. I am a very strong person and I don’t buckle under pressure very easy, but the accumulation of many simultaneous events caused my once strong soul, to become weary and worn down in the midst of the struggle.
It didn’t seem to matter how many Scriptures I meditated on, how much I prayed, or how many people tried to encourage me; I could not be comforted. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you 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.” I thought I had been doing this and frankly when I thought about this passage, I got irritated because I didn’t know what part of this I wasn’t doing.
I began to cry out to God to speak to me in regards to this situation. I didn’t get an immediate answer and so I stayed, on my bed, waiting. I tuned out all distractions and focused my mind on the truths I know about who I am IN Christ and how Christ IN me is perfect peace! As I was laying there I heard a sound outside of my window that I could not ignore. It sounded like someone was hammering a nail over and over again. Finally I got up and went outside to see what it was. The sound was coming from a tree and I realized it was a woodpecker. I was agitated and I rolled my eyes and thought to myself, “Are you kidding me? A woodpecker?”
I turned to go back inside and all of the sudden other birds started chirping and at that moment I realized what God was trying to tell me. I ran back inside and opened my Bible to Matthew 6:25-27 and read, ““Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”
I realized that even with a strong understanding of who we are IN Christ and who Christ is IN us we can still be given to worry at times of weakness. If someone would have told me I was in a mindset of worry I would have argued with them, but they would have been right. And so with the revelation I asked God what I was to do to and His Spirit directed me to Ephesians 6:13-14 which says, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”
I stopped reading right there and understood the message God was trying to tell me and here is what He said to my spirit. Sometimes we cannot make sense of circumstances and trials and there is nothing we can do to fix them, change them, or make them disappear. And it is in these times where we have to understand that our responsibility is to stand firm in our faith knowing that God is working in our situation to perform His Word on our behalf. It is in understanding this truth where all striving ceases and we are able to release our cares to Christ, the only one who understands our pain, worry, and fear.
It isn’t about us doing more! It is about us understanding that the fullness of God is already working IN us, IN Christ Jesus, and He is doing as Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:13. “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” The good pleasure of God is to perform His Word in our lives so we can stand on the other side of our trials and give Him glory through our testimony of His faithfulness. On that day I came to understand this as I stopped trying to make sense of it all and I stopped trying to calm my weary soul through my own efforts.
This is a daily exercise of faith because with each new day a new trial unfolds. But I have come to understand that Christ IN me is the hope of glory and only Christ IN Me can bring rest to my weary soul; for He is the fullness of rest and He is the Prince of Peace! Today I have come to better understand what the peace that passes all understanding feels like and I want to assure you that this same peace is available to you. All you have to do is to rest on the promises of God and believe by faith that He is at work in your trial or circumstance. He will not fail you and He never leaves you! He loves you and He cares for you!
Prayer: God this burden seems too much to bear but I believe Your Word over my reality and You promise that I will never be given more than I can bear. If I feel it is too overwhelming remind me that Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light so I can remind myself to give all my cares over to You. I believe by faith that You are in the midst of my trial working to perform Your Word on my behalf. I believe by faith that when this trial is over I will testify of Your great love and faithfulness that brought me through it! Amen
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