WATCHWORD:
“Hear me, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.” Psalm 86:1
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Meditation:
Isn’t that our cry, as well? Help me, Lord, for I am poor and needy. Yes, we are, and the reason is laying there, right on our shoulders. We thought we could do it all on our own, we thought we could plow our way through this stress we’re experiencing, that we can somehow sandbag our worries, tuck them away so we don’t have to look at them or feel them. That strained relationship, well, it’ll just go away if I ignore it, over time.
How did we get here? A foolish man would say the devil made me do it. But we know better than that. It’s true, it was a foolish man, find a mirror and see. But the truth in the matter is that our generous Creator gifted us with the power to choose, the power to walk away from Him, the freedom to act like I can do it all on my own. Maybe we hear the words, “only I can fix this” coming from our mouths.
That’s right, we are back to the subject of free Will again, making our own decisions. Getting into the soup, sticking out foot in our mouth, and now we cry to the Lord, help me!
But wait. Our Lord and Savior says unless you come as little children. Oh, yes that is exactly what we sound like. Me, Me, Me. I did it my way. So, there! instead of giving it to the Lord, we treated him like a backup plan. Would things we planned and do goes sour, we find that we desperately need Jesus. What would happen if Jesus were our ‘front-up’ plan? You know: What would you have me do, go, write, say, etc., Lord? Let’s do this together.
You remember, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together.” Ah, the meal. That, would be communion with our Lord. That, would be you surrendering. That, would be you saying, I am Yours and I always need you, Lord. That, would be the break-through you and I need.
I can understand the Psalmist crying out in his needs. I’ve been there before, you’ve been there. Maybe crying out in your grief, in your disappointment, in your isolation, in the fatigue of your caregiver role. Then Jesus says to you, come to me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am a humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.
Amen
Bulletin Board:
Time for a shaggy dog story. Remember I’m just the messenger –
A man is on vacation in France, and is enjoying his dinner at a restaurant. Suddenly, a man rushes in, leaves a note on the table, and then runs away. The man picks it up to see what it is and what it says, but the note is in French, which he doesn’t understand. When the waiter gives him the bill, the man asks him “excuse me, but what does this note say?” and gives him the note. Upon seeing what it says, the waiter instantly goes into a rage and tells the man to leave the restaurant at once. He does, and brings the note with him, wondering what he got so angry about. On the street, he asks a passing man what the note says, and the man reads it and punches him in the face. Now the man is angry, hurt and more than curious. He stops a passing a French policeman and asks him to translate. He does and promptly arrests him and puts him in jail. When he is released from jail, he is escorted to the airport and forced to leave the country. When finally, at home, he puts the note away in a drawer, seeing how it has brought him nothing but bad luck and pain. Still, he’s more curious than ever to what the note says. Later, he befriends a guy that’s fluent in French, and after being friends with him for several years, he decides to show this man the note. He puts it in front of him, asking him to translate it for him, but makes him promise that whatever it says, he must not get mad or stop being his friend, just tell him what the note says. …As his friend goes to pick the note up, a strong gust of wind blows by and takes the note with it.
Remember, I’m just the messenger.
Closing Prayer:
Morning prayer based on Psalm 86 –
Heavenly Father, bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me; for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; save your servant who trusts in You! Be merciful to me O Lord, for I cry to You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. Show me anything in my life that is a hindrance to You being able to work in and through me. For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
As I grow in my walk with You, “teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. Lastly, I yield myself to You to be used by You as an example to those that You want to show Your mercy and other attributes. Show me a sign for good, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, because You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me. Thank you for guiding my prayer with this Psalm. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
