How We Respond to the Storms of Life

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.

As we approach another changing of seasons, my mind has recently been drawn back to the summers of my youth. My twin brother, our cousin and a neighborhood friend spent hours every day pounding the pavement playing basketball, tossing the baseball, games of cops and robbers and going for a swim in the neighbor’s pool. They were always my favorite days. But, as anyone who grew up in Kentucky (or the Midwest/South region of the US) can attest, summer days bring brightness of the sun but they often carry the potential for sudden, unexpected storms to quickly spin up and put a damper on our day of fun.

Isn’t life kind of like that too? Sudden storms of life can roll in so quickly. Cancer diagnoses, loss of a child, job layoff, divorce. Insert your particular storm of life here. Though it may look different for each of us, we have all experienced moments in our lives when the rolling in of dark clouds devastatingly interrupts our bright sunny days. Often times it knocks us off our feet, takes the breath from our lungs and causes us to tremble with the fear in the face of the unknown and of what we can’t control.

I struggle with that. Letting go is difficult, especially when the news is bad. I want to protect my people. I want to save them from any hurt or devastation the storms may bring. But in trying to do so, I often unintentionally elevate myself above God by trying to change, control or carry things that are only meant for Him.

Matthew 11:28-30 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (NIV).

Verse 28 is the one we most often see quoted on images and social media, but it is so important to keep on reading. Verse 30, the reminder that His burden is light, is a critical piece for understanding the value of placing our worries and cares upon God.

I want to be like Jesus, lying under the deck of the boat asleep while torrential rains and intense, damaging winds are rocking my boat of life. Instead, I usually find myself trying to step out of the boat to fight the raging storm on my own. We all know how that story ends. I fight until I am exhausted only to find myself drowning in the waters around me. Friends, instead of fighting these battles from the place of pride (which I have been guilty of often), let’s invite Jesus to climb into our boat with us. It is from this place were we can learn to trust our Rescuer. Though He may not always cease the storm as quickly as we may pray for, His promises are true and He is always with us in them.

John 3:30 reminds us “He must become greater, I must become less”. (NIV). Let’s keep God on the throne of our lives and remember that no matter our circumstances He is the bearer of our burdens. He is our Rescuer. It is only when we choose to invite Jesus in that we are able to experience true rest. His rest. Peace that transcends all understanding. That is a gift from Jesus and it is a foundational truth from which we should all learn to live. It is a constant struggle to let Jesus fight for us, but it is a choice we should make daily because WITH Jesus is always better.

#Fear