Are you struggling?
Are you stressed and frustrated? Or maybe angry and disappointed in someone close to you?
Financial stress is causing a lot of struggle right now in this high inflation environment we are living in. It is likely to get worse before it gets better.
Jesus offers us some encouragement.
““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 NIV
If you are feeling over burdened right now and you are weary from the struggle, Jesus just asks us to do one thing.
Jesus says, “Come to me.”
It seems easy enough but it’s more of a process. It’s a realignment of our hearts and our minds. It starts by taking the focus off of our problems and the struggle, even if only briefly, in order to remember this important truth.
God loves you and always will.
Jesus gave His life for us and what we lose sight of, is that He hasn’t abandoned us.
I often forget that myself and need to be reminded. My life can be so busy and mentally I can get exhausted.
So how do you “find” that rest?
What’s the process?
Here’s what’s helped me.
I love music. I listen as often as I can to all kinds of music that I love. I can’t sing, but when I’m alone, I do anyway. My favorite Christian songs always help align my heart and put my focus where it needs to be in order to find rest when I am weary.
Here is one of my favorites. It is one of my favorites because it reminds me of who I am and what Jesus has already done for me. It helps my heart to “come to Jesus.”
This line right here, is what gets me every time.👇🏼
“But when I hear you whisper, “child lift up your head,” I remember oh God, you’re not done with me yet.”
God isn’t done with us yet.
His Word is the lamp to our feet when we are struggling and in need of rest.
How do we find rest for our souls?
1 “I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “ Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
6 The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.
8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
10 I trusted in the Lord when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”
11 ; in my alarm I said, “Everyone is a liar.”
12 What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.
16 Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord — in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.”
Psalms 116:1-19 NIV
The first two verses are the “reminder.” It’s the first step in the process.
1 “I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.
How do we come to Jesus? We remember that He hears our voice, our cry for help. Call out to Him. He hears your anguish and all your fears. We all were born sinners in need of a Savior and that salvation has changed everything. We are redeemed. He will always listen to us so don’t ever stop talking to Him.
Can you relate to any of that my friend?
Remembering how valuable we are in the eyes of Jesus, helps us to look to Him for our rest.
Are you struggling because of a death in the family or someone close to you?
3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “ Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.
If your heart is overwhelmed by grief and sorrow, call out to Jesus. He is full of compassion. He experienced death Himself and even wept at the death of His friend Lazarus, knowing He would raise him from the dead a few days later.
One of my favorite verses is Psalm 34:18. I shared this verse during a Bible study and one of the guys broke down crying. He was going through a divorce and really struggling. It was exactly what he needed to hear in that very moment to give him hope. This verse helped me get through a divorce myself years later.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalms 34:18 NIV
We are redeemed and we will never be abandoned, regardless of what the struggle is. When you are crushed in spirit or brokenhearted, remember that Jesus is close to you.
I was at my lowest point in my whole life, when I went through my divorce. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I thought my life was over.
Then I learned a valuable lesson and was reminded of a constant truth in my life and one that I hope you have learned as well.
6 The Lord protects the unwary; when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.
Has the Lord been good to you?
I came through that dark time during my divorce, only because Jesus pursued me and refused to let me go. He then brought my lovely wife into my life and I found there really was light on the other side of that tunnel.
It reinforced my faith in the One who is always faithful.
I am reminded of one of the biggest lessons I ever learned, that completely changed my perspective on the “Goodness” of God.
Chip Ingram is a favorite pastor that I’ve listened to. He taught many years ago on the goodness of God and seeing God for who He really is. He told a story of when he was on a traveling mission team that played and taught basketball to kids around the world. They were somewhere in Asia and taking a break on a beach when they spotted a kid drowning. His friend immediately went in to save the child and was able to, but then got sucked into an undertow. He thought he was going to drown and so did Chip and the others on the beach. From the bottom of the sea he cried out in his heart. In his mind, he just screamed out “Jesus!”
Then it was like the sea lifted him up and spit him back onto the beach. His friends immediately performed CPR and revived him.
Now here was my “a-ha” moment. A life lesson.
After they revived him, Chip said to the others, “God is good!” To which his friend responded, “No Chip, if he had died today, God would still be good.”
I will never forget that.
God’s goodness doesn’t depend on the circumstances in my life. His goodness isn’t conditional and that led me to a real truth which grew my faith in Him, in spite of my circumstances.
God is good all the time; all the time, God is good.
8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
10 I trusted in the Lord when I said, “I am greatly afflicted”
11 ; in my alarm I said, “Everyone is a liar.”
Look back on your life.
Have you been delivered from death, tears or stumbling? Have you been lied to?
I know I have. Too many times to count. Through it all, I have gained strength in those experiences and it has helped me to encourage others as they go through those same types of struggles.
Are you going through a struggle in a relationship? There’s no escape from that in this life unfortunately. I find that when I focus on getting my heart right instead of focusing on the other person, it does something important. It helps me to “get out of the way” of what only God can do, which is change someone’s heart.
Reaching out to Jesus, sharing your struggles with Him and remembering all that He has done, helps to reveal His goodness in spite of your circumstances. That leads to a change in your heart that creates a response.
12 What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me?
How can I give back? What shall I return to the Lord that comes from my thankful heart? How can I honor Him?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
Sharing our testimony of how God brought us through our struggles, is how we glorify the One who gave His very life. We all have struggles, and so does everyone we will ever meet. As I’ve found out in my life, God allows those very struggles, so that He can use you somewhere down the road, to help and encourage someone going through the same thing.
Now here is a verse that some may struggle with in this Psalm.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.
The key to understanding this verse is the words “faithful servants.”
What does that look like?
Is it a list of do’s and dont’s that God is keeping track of?
No.
Jesus told us what it looks like.
“Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 10:38-39 NIV
Am I worthy?
“whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”
Who do you live your life for? Is it yourself? Is it your family?
What does it mean to truly live?
Loving your family is different than “living for your family.” Loving yourself is different than “living for yourself.”
This was a hard thing for me to grasp. Aren’t they one and the same?
Let me show you what Jesus said, right before He said those two verses.
““Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
Matthew 10:37 NIV
Jesus is not telling us to not love them. Loving your family is not a bad thing, we’re supposed to love our family. That should be a given.
But loving our family “more than” loving Jesus, means we value them more, which means two things.
First, we don’t value “fully,” the sacrifice Jesus made for us and how much we have been redeemed. That is why Jesus said, to take up “our cross” and follow Him. That’s how we will discover what it means to truly be living. A life of redemption and thankfulness and an offer of adventure for every follower of Christ.
Second, can our love even compare to the love that Jesus has for our family. He doesn’t see them through a filter of past history or mistakes. He doesn’t see them for all their faults, but instead sees their potential. Their redeeming value, untarnished by any and all circumstances. We can’t compete with that kind of unconditional love.
All Jesus is asking us to do, is to love them to Him so that they can find life too.
God doesn’t want us to die, He wants our selfishness to die.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.
When our old self dies, a new life begins and that new life is precious in God’s sight.
Why?
Because it leads to this:
16 Truly I am your servant, Lord; I serve you just as my mother did; you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord — in your midst, Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.”
A changed heart leads to a thankful life of sacrifice that will draw people to you so that they too might be redeemed. There is something encouraging about someone going through a real struggle, who never loses their thankfulness. It’s hope for the weary soul.
A transformation from a struggling heart to a servants heart. That’s where we find rest.
That is my prayer for all of you who may be struggling.
I like to tell people to “keep their chin up.”
I do that because of that line in the song that has reminded me more times than I can count.
“But when I hear you whisper, “child lift up your head,” I remember oh God, you’re not done with me yet.”
I hope that this has been encouraging to you and that you can find rest in the midst of the struggle.
Blessings my friends.
How timely was this drop if your Sunday article? Well-very, to say the very least. I’m struggling mightily with my relationship with my son, who is angry and sorely disappointed that he is being held back from his dream of going to his chosen college because it’s out of his parents financial reach. “I’m an A+ student, all my friend’s parents are paying for their tuition, what’s wrong with you?” “why are you crushing my dreams ?” My heart is broken, I feel like a failed parent, I’ve done what I can but it’s never enough. Then you point out that I must put Jesus first, above my son, above my pain of not being enough in his 18 year old eyes. You are right and I have to live this way and believe this. Thank you for your wisdom and your timing. There’s a lesson, a pruning, a truth, a circumstance in the future, that I can’t know and may never know but He knows. And I have to trust that that is more than enough. ❤️🩹
Thank you, Joe. Timely message. Our family has lost 3 loved ones within a month. It's been rough. God gives me strength. My husband was injured as a first responder in the midst of these 3 loved ones going to heaven. He could have been seriously injured due to the nature of the accident, but I believe my prayers & those of friends & family members spared from very severe injuries. He is recovering remarkably well.
I also take care of my 89 year old mom while living several miles away. Frequently, I am driving in to see her, take her to appointments. It's all good. I'm so very thankful she's with us! I don't know how people get along in life without knowing Jesus & living with faith. God is my rock, my strength. Thank you for writing this message. May it lead many others to Christ.