He leads me …

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.”  Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV)

And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’ Luke 15:17-19 (NKJV)

Have you noticed that people who want to do well in sport have to do more and more to get better? They have to buy the more expensive equipment. They have to dedicate more time to what they are doing. It just gets harder and harder. They see less of their friends and family, and their sport becomes their main focus, absorbing all their effort, their finance, the lot.

Running a business can do the same. So can other endeavours like music, politics and being part of agencies like World Vision and the SPCA.

But being a Christian is the opposite.

When we become a Christian the stress and burden of life is generally left behind when Jesus becomes the Lord of our lives and we look to Him to take control of our lives. It is like an invisible weight comes off our shoulders and we can start to stand up straight for the first time.

Then comes another important time later in our Christian walk. As we go along, the Lord allows us to experience all kinds of things that help us mature in our faith. There are times of incredible blessing and other times when it seems like He has completely left us, and of course everything in between.

Finally we get to the point where we come to letting God really take over. It is no longer a case of, ‘I feel called to do … . What do I need to do to get there?’ It becomes, ‘If the Lord really wants me to do … , He will open the door.’ It becomes a different way of thinking. We do what the Lord asks us to do of course, but He is the one who basically makes things happen.

When this occurs, feelings like anxiety and fear lose their hold in our lives. They have no place, because the problem is no longer ours. It’s God’s.

As long as we trust God and do not try and take any form of control back, this place is an amazingly peaceful place to be.

Then we truly understand what Jesus meant when He said, ‘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.’