“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gently and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Heavenly Father,
Your Word tells me to come, so I come. The burdens of this life, the stress, chaos and noise of my days have made me weary. I’m tired, I’m broken, and I am in desperate need of the rest you offer. I’m in need of your grace. People have disappointed me, devastation has overwhelmed me, and my heart aches for healing.
So, I come.
I lay down my pride that has kept me from admitting my need for you. I turn from every distraction that would seek to keep me from embracing you, and I come. I don’t feel that I have much to bring, but I come. What I do offer are the broken pieces of my heart – the hurt, shame, regret, bitterness, doubt…I’m laying it all down at your feet now. My “yoke” is heavy, but you tell me that yours is light.
So, I come.
I long to know your gentleness and to become acquainted with your loving heart. I’m done praying “how, why, and when”. Now, the cry of my heart is “what do you want me to learn from this?”
So, I come.
Surrender is quite possibly the most difficult act of obedience, but it is possible because you ask me to do it. You ask me to offer you my broken pieces so that you can make much out of my little. You take great delight in making something beautiful out of my brokenness. True surrender is what you desire.
So, I come.
I’ll exchange my heavy burden for your light one. I’ll let go of all that I’ve clung to, all that I’ve relied upon, all of my own understanding and self-sufficiency, and I’ll come to you and find my rest. You say to me, “Child, come rest in me.”
So, I come.
May my offering of surrender be as worship unto you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
1. What is your first response to God’s invitation to you to “Come and find your rest in Him”?
2. As I’ve done above, journal your own prayer of surrender to the Lord using Matthew 11:28-30. Pray God’s Word.
So blessed by your blogs! Thank you for sharing
Eileen,
Time and time again I have been so blessed by your persistent faith. Last night at my Bible study, I taught on surrender. You were the 1st person who came to mind…the past 7 months of your life have been lived in daily surrender to the Lord, and your faith has blessed me tremendously. I shared about Kristen last night in my class. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, including my own. Her life left a legacy, one worth telling again and again, and your daily commitment to press on to know the Lord speaks volumes to those around you. Love you Eileen.
So beautifuly written..your blogs and writtings are so filled with the Love of Christ. Love you Cherie!
what an amazing message last night about surendering the broken pieces of our life. God blessed me with an amazing opportunity this morning to share my brokeness…being critical…with my Muslim friend at work. I recounted the amazing message last night about the widow going to elijah asking for help. I explained to her how God oqnly asks fornwhat we have, not any more. I explained how the only thing I am able to offer is my critical nature.
Today we both sat in a training class where the instructor was not prepared, material was poor and the class started late… My first reaction was to complain to her at break time and whine…the lord is so good and instead prompted me to share the message from last night and admit to her how hard it is for me to give surrender this brokenness to the lord..she listened eagerly and agreed that she also struggles with the same issues…
Lord thank you for letting me share my brokenness with someone who does not know you yet…please use my brokenness to restore me and show her the hope that is in your son Jesus.
Natalie, this is incredible! Praise the Lord that He is at work in your heart, moving you towards surrender AND strengthening your faith to share it with someone who needs to hear the truth! Thank you so much for sharing this with me! Praying for you as you seek the Lord to surrender it all!