WATCHWORD:
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.
Meditation:
War within Yourself
Somewhere, deep within, a voice is telling you “You’re not good enough, you will never amount to anything”, and it sounds like your own voice, your 7-year old voice, or perhaps your 17-year-old voice. Regardless, you believed it. You carried that scar with you as you grew into adulthood. You believed yourself; you were worthless, stupid, dumb, unable to speak when under pressure. You sense that your peers blame you. Most of the time you are alone. Such is the nature of the war within as we often struggle through childhood and adolescence.
Then, as an adult, another voice, the Voice of God, saying “Come to me, my dear child, you are weary and burdened, come to me and I will give you rest for your soul”. The voice tells you to take His yoke upon you and learn from Him” and you can tell from the tone of His Words that He is gentle and humble and you know that is the better road to go. And as you come to Him, that other voice is stilled, for a time.
Then, later, because of circumstances, you hear that voice from childhood again, the voice of Satan, telling you, “Don’t listen to Him. Face the facts, you really aren’t good enough, you don’t fit in, and how about those evil thoughts you have? You can’t hide those, so, just forget it, it’s a dead end.”
Then, above the negative voices, you hear, again, God speaking: “My beloved, I have been waiting for you these many years. I AM Your good, good Abba FATHER and you belong in My Family. Every one of your bad thoughts and deeds is covered by My Love for you and I will make you completely new, by the power of the Holy Spirit of My Son, Jesus, your brother. The choice is yours, my dear, to come and be mine.”
And you do come and you find a God-blessed life of compassionate power and influence, a model of the Christians Way. You touch lives and help them silence the negative voices that are tearing down lives. People look to you and they find, in you, a compass to guide you on the path that the Holy Spirit has laid out for you. And you find the joy in being part of the Family of God.
We all have the choice to respond, to come to Him, and leave behind the negatives forged in our younger years, for the fresh and new life in Christ. Have you made that choice? Maybe it is time. So be it.
Note of Dedication:
This Watchword is dedicated to our friend and fellow saint, Pete Gano, who stepped into the next room to be with his Lord and Savior, three weeks ago. The message and some of the words of this meditation were adopted and inspired by the writing of his wife, Pat Gano, in her book, The Language of Heaven: 5 Gifts that Create Legacy. I thank her and my Lord for the inspiration.
Closing Prayer:
Oh Lord, hear my prayer and grant me the peace that passes all understanding. Show me the way to your throne so I may sit at your feet and know your abiding comfort. Let a wellspring of joy rise from my heart until it overflows. Lead me to your garden of peace, so I may sit among the angels. Let me hear their songs of praise and know peace within my soul once more. Amen.
