Matthew 11:28—Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
This past weekend I attended a conference and was surprised to discover a banquet fee of which I was unaware. I didn’t have enough cash. I had not brought my checkbook and the conference administrators could not take a credit card. This could have been a somewhat embarrassing dilemma. Fortunately, around the corner from the Ramada Inn was a 7-11 convenience store. In the store was an ATM in which I was able to slide my bank card and access cash. Yes!!!
Do you ever have times where you feel trapped by discouragement? Your emotional wallet is empty of cash. Your ability to call upon friends is stymied by their busyness. Your family is enmeshed with their own needs and therefore unable to help. Perhaps even what advice you receive is not enough to matter. All roads to relief are choked by the debris of insufficiency.
God is far better than a conveniently placed ATM machine. No matter where we are He is accessible. God doesn’t put your prayer on hold until He can get to it. He cares 24 hours a day every day for eternity. His resources are unlimited. His love is perfect.
"So how come when I pray nothing happens? How come there are times I feel God isn’t there for me?" If you’ve ever asked these questions you are in good company with a multitude of other bewildered followers of the Almighty.
Perhaps the answer to accessibility is integrity. When we go to God the issue is not whether He is there, the issue is whether we are honest with Him. If we have preconceived notions as to how He must respond we may completely miss what He is trying to tell us. If we are less than honest with our burdens than God is constrained in what He can do.
What if I ask God to take away my discouragement and yet my real problem is overeating? I sense God is not there for me because I remain discouraged. But the real cause of my discouragement is my unwillingness to ask God to address my inability to say no to "cookies".
Notice Jesus said, "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." If we come to God we must be teachable. God is most accessible when we are most willing to learn from Him. Share truthfully what you are going through and you will encounter a loving Shepherd in whom you find rest.
Inspiration
