“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” – Matthew 11:28-30
At the age of five, our youngest daughter was determined to learn how to ride a big bike so she could go faster and keep up with her older siblings. When the time came to take off the training wheels, my husband started by holding onto the back of her seat and ran along with her. She didn’t have any hesitations. She peddled fast, felt the wind against her face and her excitement grew as she heard our cheers and realized she was riding a bike. She liked the feeling of freedom and didn’t have any fear of falling. She trusted that her dad would hold on to her, keeping her safe.
As she got the feel for it, my husband would take his hand off her seat for a short time while still running beside her. When he let go of her seat, she would start to panic, lose her balance and fall. It was hard to watch but we kept encouraging her and giving her tips for maintaining balance. She became less enthusiastic to keep trying and it got to the point where she would just want us to hold onto her and run along with her. However, as hard as it was on us to see those skinned knees, we had to let go of her so she would learn how to balance and ride on her own. We kept running beside her, staying close to give her comfort, encouragement and gentle reminders to help her be successful. The problem was, I got tired of running back and forth along the sidewalk, and bike practicing got less and less especially during the hot summer days.
The beauty of children is their complete trust. My daughter trusted her dad and me to keep her safe. She felt comforted by our presence and desired for us to stay close to her. While we as parents may look like invincible superheroes, children learn all too soon that we have our faults and shortcomings. They realize they can’t trust us to fulfill their every need. As we continued to work with our daughter, we sometimes lost our patience and were less enthusiastic with our encouragement after the 69th try on a hot, humid day.
There is nothing in this world that we can trust to satisfy our hearts. God is the only one we can trust for His unconditional love and mercy. “Good indeed is the LORD, His mercy endures forever, his faithfulness lasts through every generation.” (Psalm 100:5)
God, our all-loving Father never tires of running beside us. He is always right there giving us encouragement, comfort, peace and guidance. His love for us is so great and He wants to help us carry our burdens. He is just waiting to be invited into our hearts. With that child-like trust, run to Jesus. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Reflection Questions:
Have there been times when you have felt comfort from Jesus as He walked with you during difficult times? How did that feel?
How do you put your trust in God and not yourself?
In your current circumstance, how can you lean into God, allowing Him to help carry your burdens?
*Scripture Alive will be offered periodically. It will feature a Bible verse, photograph and a brief reflection through the use of stories. The purpose of Project Emmaus is to share stories of everyday encounters with Christ. The thing is, we begin to recognize His presence in our lives even more when we spend time with Jesus in prayer. My hope with this series is that it will help to bring the Scriptures alive through reflection and prayer, deepening our relationship with Christ.
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