“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…for your souls”. (Matthew 11:28-29)

“God, they say you love us, but do you really mean me?”

“God loves you!” We hear it from time to time. Sometimes it is offered as somewhat of a Band-Aid to a difficult problem we face. Sometimes it’s on a billboard or on a grandmother’s lips. But does it really make much difference if He does or if He doesn’t? And if God really does love me, does it actually affect me where I live and walk today? Does God’s love matter in any practical way to me?

Most of us have no trouble believing in a higher power. Nearly every 12-step help program acknowledges the need of it. Most people say, “Yes” when asked if they believe in God, but that’s often about as far as it goes. Little rituals, memorized prayers, desperate pleas for God to get us out of the scrapes we get ourselves into, that seems to be the extent of most know about God.

Yet His Word, the Holy Bible, tells of a very loving God who longs to be in relationship with us. The Father’s heart, to us, His children, is tender. His arms are open and His invitation is “Come”.

Sometimes His call to “come” cannot be heard. Sometimes the filters on the heart are clogged with the sad truth that perhaps one’s own father may not have provided a good example of loving. Sometimes we do not believe His love could be for us as an individual. Oh, we know others whom God could surely love, but me? “No”, we think, “not if He really knew me.”

There are times in our lives when God calls our name. He asks us not to harden our hearts to Him, but to respond and to come.  “God loves you” is a deeply profound statement that will change your life if you will let it. Dare to explore the depth of this love. Dare to turn your head and hear Him calling your name. You will never be sorry.

Father God,

I hear You calling my name and feel the tug of Your love on my heart. Help me to believe You really do mean me. Help me to open my heart door wide and allow You to flood my life with Your love, Your peace and Your strength. Amen.

Question: Is God tugging on your heart today? How will you respond to Him?

How can we pray for you today?

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Not long ago I spent a lovely weekend in the magnificent beauty of the Alaskan mountains. I was privileged to be the guest speaker of a women’s retreat there. Precious women extracted themselves from their busy lives from Friday evening to Sunday noon. They took time they didn’t really have to come away…to let their hearts drink in rest and refreshment.

Life noisily demands our attention. It clamors, persistently moving us in many directions. It’s easy to forget that Jesus Himself has invited us to come and find rest for our souls.

Are you expecting His rest to refresh you today? Are you expecting to encounter His strength holding you today? Are you expecting His peace to sustain your heart even in what can sometimes be chaotic days? Are you expecting Him to meet your heart even as you read these words?

Let this invitation, to you from Jesus, steep into your soul like a pot of tea steeps to full flavor. You can expect God to deposit something into your heart even in this moment. Now read it again this way.

“Come unto me today, _____________ (Put in your name), with all the things that weary your body and burden your mind and heart and I will give you rest … for your soul.”

Today you can have the confident expectation that God will hold you as you COME to Him. You are invited. Come and receive:

1. C – CAST your concerns on Him: 

1 Peter 5:7  “Casting all your cares on Him for He cares for you.”

Lord God, today I bring you the questions on my heart about ______, I bring you my disappointment in _________ and I look, with expectation to You to help me because You care. Thank you!

2. O- OPEN your heart:

Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything but pray about everything. Tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers.”

Lord God, Today I need  __________. I ask You for it. I trust in Your strength to hold me and I thank You that You will guide me and direct my path. I wait in expectation.

3. M-MAKE requests:

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Lord God, Your grace is enough for all I am dealing with today. You have promised that even in my weakness Your strength is made perfect. Today I feel weak in ___________. I trust You to strengthen me. 

4. E-EXPECT: 

Romans 15:13 “May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Lord God, I receive Your joy and peace in my heart right now as I fully trust You to be the Manager of my day today. In the strong name of Jesus I pray, amen.

Question: How do you COME to Jesus today?

I feel tired because _______________ . How would you answer that question?  What wears you down and sucks the life from you?  In my life, it’s been many things.  When my four boys were little some days would feel like an eternity. When they were teenagers, it was a different weariness – sitting in the passenger seat as they learned to drive, football injuries, school work and many late nights.  Now I have other things that pull me into the depths of exhaustion –  Christmas and all that it brings, juggling work and home, a wayward son, turmoil in my family, the list goes on and on.

In Psalm 63:1 the Psalmist says, “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you.  My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.”

I can identify with the author of this Psalm, can you?  My soul is thirsty and my whole body longs for God. I long to see him, to have an intimate relationship with Him in this parched and weary land I find myself in.  I love face to face conversations.  If I have a choice of talking on the phone or meeting face to face I will choose face to face any day.  I like to watch people’s reactions to things I say.  I long for that kind of relationship with Jesus.

I want to hear Him laugh, to see His face and see His reactions when I am speaking with Him.  I want to know that He hears me and that He knows me.  Just recently I had the opportunity to take a walk with my Dad (a rare treat).  We took a nice stroll up to a nearby Starbucks and sat and talked for a couple of hours over a good cup of coffee (actually I had tea and he had coffee).  Oh, how I long to do that with my heavenly Father.  Do you ever long for that too? 

In verses 6-8 of that same chapter the author goes on to say, “I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.” 

What does it look like to lie awake at night thinking of God, meditating on Him through the night?  I don’t know about you but when I lie awake at night it’s because I’m worried over something or I have too many things on my plate and I’m trying to make sure that I don’t forget any of them.  I don’t lie awake because I’m thinking of God.

When I’m in a dry and weary land, when I’m worn and fatigued my tendency is to spiral downward, to focus on my feelings, to focus on my exhaustion. But the Psalmist is saying here that we are to turn our hearts towards God remembering the things that He has done for us, how he has provided and met our needs.  We then can KNOW that he is our helper.  We can sing for JOY and rest in the shadow of His wings.

Meditating causes us to cling to the only ONE that can truly satisfy us.  We will find REST in His strong capable hands.  So my weary friend, turn your heart towards God and allow Him to quench your raging thirst and satisfy your soul.  He is all you need!

Question: What makes you weary? How can we pray for each other today?

Do you feel like your partner doesn’t get you? We are here to listen.

“‘Please, sir,’ the woman said, ‘gives me some of that water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again’” (John 4:15 NLT).

Did Jesus get weary physically in His travels? Of course, He did.

The disciple John relates one such incidence in John 4, “Eventually He came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime” (Verses 5-6, NLT).

He sat at the well of the father to rest and recuperate, to quench His thirst. Do you ever feel like that? Thirsty? Fainting? Tired? Need recharging? Just as it is possible to get weary physically, it is equally possible to get weary spiritually.

David did. He said to the Lord, “My soul thirsts for You; my whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water,” (Ps. 63:1b NLT) and “I reach out for You. I thirst for You as parched land thirsts for rain.” (Ps 143:6 NLT)

As Jesus thirsted and sat by the well, He spoke of the living water to a woman, who also thirsted, and came to the well for water. He said to her, “People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life.” (John 4:13-14 NLT)

Not yet recognizing her own spiritual thirst or Jesus’ meaning, she said, “‘Please, sir,’ the woman said, ‘give me some of that water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again’” (John 4:15 NLT).

When we, today, read this account in our Bibles, we understand that the Lord’s offering of refreshing, spiritual waters, is not from without, but from within, and satisfies eternally more than an oasis on the backside of the scorched Sahara desert.

As Christians, we have the privilege of sitting by the well of our Father when we crave this living water for our arid spirits, lowering our buckets into that well to quench our spiritual thirst, to regain our strength and power, and to rest until every thought of care, confusion, or depression is lifted.

When you become tired from your journey and your weary soul shrivels up, feeling bone-dry, what do you do? When every last drop of spiritual vitality has evaporated, do you take advantage and dip your bucket into a well to replenish your parched spirit and soul? But which well…the world’s well of lifeless drivel or the Father’s well of living water?

When in your arid condition, do you hear the Lord whisper His invitation to you, “Come, sit by the well”?

Lord, when life’s trials and schedules overwhelm me, remind me to come sit with You by the well of the Father, that I may drink of those thirst- quenching, Living Waters to replenish my soul and spirit. Amen.

Questions: What do you do when your body becomes tired and weary of what you do? What did Jesus do when He got weary?

Do you regret having had an abortion? Need someone to talk to?

In response to an article, a bright young lady wrote me, “Sometimes I feel that I need to talk to Jesus. But then I remember: the reason I got into trouble was my fault, so I should face the music, and not bother Jesus about it.”

I admired her refreshing honesty and her willingness to take responsibility. Still it’s not a good reason to stay away from God. He’s longing to hear from us especially when we’ve messed up. One of the sweetest words in the Bible is “come”.

God invites us in

The invitation is to people who’ve messed up. “Come now, let us argue this out,” says the LORD. “No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow” (Isaiah 1:18, ASB).The invitation is to people who haven’t got it all figured out. Come just as you are with all your fears and questions and doubts and failures.

How do you think Jesus will respond? I hear Him saying the same words to us that He said to the woman caught in adultery: “I do not condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

(John 8:11) When we come to Him in this way, He washes away our sin and gives us power to make a new start.

When we’ve messed up, we’re often very hard on ourselves. We flog ourselves with: “I did it AGAIN! I’m so stupid. I’m no good. I’m a failure. I’ll never change.” These discouraging voices are not from God.

Satan makes us feel like a complete failure. Jesus makes us feel like a person who can triumph over failure and learn from it. He forgives us and helps us to forgive ourselves. Then He enables us to make a new start.

Dear God, I come to You now just as I am. Forgive me and cleanse me and help me forgive myself. Thank You that You have accepted me and forgiven me, and that You want to live your life through me today.  Amen.

Questions: Describe the feeling of when you messed up and then realized that you had been forgiven. How did that affect your life?

About the Author Helen Grace Lescheid

The letter to the church in Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13) describes a people who were patiently enduring the hardship they faced. They remained faithful to God but had little strength.  Do you love God, but feel weak and weary? Are you following Him, but wonder how much longer you can continue under the weight of your trouble? Take heart. The message to Philadelphia is a message for you.

God knows your heart.  He understands your struggle.

Though our strength is limited, God’s strength is not. He is almighty and nothing can stand against His power. What He opens, no one can shut; and what He shuts, no one can open. The trouble you face may be insurmountable for you, but it is not insurmountable  for God.

The apostle Paul writes, “God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV). God has placed an open door before us that no one can shut. Ask Him for the power to walk through it.

Heavenly Father, thank you that You are always strong. I am so weak; give me the power to walk through the door you have opened for me. Help me to remain faithful to You and to never deny Your name.

Questions: How does admitting your weakness help you access God’s power? Why do we forget about God’s all-powerfulness?

About the Author Suzanne Benner

It had been a heavy week, incredibly busy and in the midst of it all, people all around me who were hurting. As I sat down with my Bible in hand, I wondered what it was that God was going to remind me about today. As I glanced down to the blank page of my journal, my eyes fell on the verse at the bottom of the page, “Whoever believes in Me…streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 7:38 NIV)

What a word picture—not a barren desert, but living, life-giving water. Not black storm clouds either, but living water that was supposed to flow out of my innermost being, not just squeezed out, or trickling out, but full out! The next verse that came to mind was Matthew 11:28 “Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest for your soul.”

I had to stop and consider: What does a soul at rest look like?

* It doesn’t worry, using up countless energy being anxious about something that may never happen. Did you know that 80% of what we worry about never happens?

* It doesn’t mean that I don’t care about others, but it means that I leave those cares at the foot of the cross and leave them there. “Casting all your cares upon Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

*It means that I listen and pray and allow God to be God in the lives of those I care most about. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

* It means that I will experience God’s peace in the middle of the storm, not just afterwards. “and the peace that passes all understanding…will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”(Philippians 4:7).

Lord, nothing has changed since I sat down here with to reflect on You and Your Word. But my focus has changed, and my soul is at rest. Keep me in that place today Lord. Amen.

Questions: What is it that is keeping your soul from being at rest today? How can you practically leave your cares at the foot of the cross? Why is it so difficult? Share something that we can pray with you about today that is threatening to destroy your soul’s rest.

“…where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

“Set your hearts on things above…” (Colossians 3:2).

Jan and I sat in the café musing about what our dream homes would look like and where they would be. We were currently living in a country not of our birth, in houses certainly more than adequate but not truly of our own choosing. We led busy lives and on this particular day were probably more than a little weary.

Jan—not adept at or fond of cooking—described her future kitchen: “About the size of a closet with only an efficient microwave and very small refrigerator!” We agreed that our preferred site would be on the eastern United States seacoast in weather beaten cottages with white fences around the yards.

Many years have gone by. Jan lives in a quaint, small home but it is on the outskirts of a major metropolitan area. I live in a condominium in a suburban setting thousands of miles from the sea.

Have our dreams gone unfulfilled? Were our musings wasted time? Both Jan and I have moved into lives that have many challenges but are satisfying. (She still doesn’t cook much but owns a full-sized kitchen!) Our longings for the sea are partially indulged by an occasional holiday visit.

It is not wrong to keep a notebook of fabric swatches for the furniture of our dreams. House plans, garden layouts, paint chips of favorite colors are good memory joggers. But when dreams of the future supplant following hard after God’s plans for today, we can easily be diverted from His best for us.

Father, it is so easy to lose my focus on Your grand plans. Keep me ever vigilant to hear Your heart…then my own desires will fit perfectly into Your own. Amen

Questions: Think back on a dream you had for your future. As you committed your dreams to God, how did He fulfill your desires?

About the Author Marilyn Ehle

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Fresh Heart, Fresh Start, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Connie tapped on the door. A small voice called to her to come in. Connie was amazed at the tidy appearance of the old lady. The pearls and painted nails surprised her somehow. She looked little and alone. The small room in the hospital had become her home. She was grateful for a visitor.

Connie couldn’t help but notice the deep peace on this lady’s face as she told Connie, “God is so good. I’m alone now. It’s just the Lord and me, but I have a ministry here.” And she told her how she had grown to care about the nurses; how they came to put her to bed and stayed to have her pray with them. Though there was a longing to go to be with her Lord, there was also contentment. God’s peace and His love were very much alive in that little room.

As Connie started her car in the parking lot, she realized that her heart was lighter. She had gone out of duty and with a weary heart, but God had met her there and refreshed her spirit through a little granny.

Her morning Bible reading flooded back to her mind. It had been the story of Jesus washing His disciples’ feet. (John 13: 10-17) Jesus had demonstrated this giving task and then said,

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them”(John 13:17).

The lesson was clear to her now. God had shown her tonight. In reaching out to others, we move beyond our own self-consumed worries and find blessing. She was glad she had gone. Nothing in her circumstances had changed. But in her spirit she had found an unexpected lift that lightened her step. Yes! God is so good!

Today, ask God who is on His heart in the circle you move in. Reach out to someone. Lighten their load with a word of encouragement or some small deed. It’s the way God works in blessing you and those around you.

Heavenly Father, You know me better than I know myself. You know that in giving I truly do receive. Forgive me for my worry. Help me to trust You to guide me through my circumstances and help me to keep an outward eye to those around me. Thank You for the happiness that comes as I reach out and purposefully touch the lives of those near me. Make me a blessing today. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Questions: Who does God bring to mind that would be blessed from a visit from you?  How can we become more sensitive to the needs around us? Can you give an example of a time when you were blessed as you went to see someone even though you felt inconvenienced at the time?

About the Author Gail Rodgers

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, He Loves to Be With the Ones He Loves, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

“May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

When my daughter was four we had an opportunity to live in England for 9 months.  It was a wonderful experience.  Our assignment was up in December so we packed up our household to ship it back to the States; packed a suitcase for each of us and headed off to Germany to visit some friends we had made during a work assignment before our daughter was born.  We celebrated an early English Christmas with our new friends in England and then celebrated an early German/American Christmas with our friends in Germany.

As it turned out, we arrived in the USA on Christmas Eve with no luggage and no rental car.   We were all very travel weary and not too happy to be “stranded” with what we had on our persons and not many options available on Christmas Eve to get some basics such as clean underwear, pajamas, etc.  The airline and motel graciously gave us toothbrushes, etc but most stores are not open on Christmas Day so we were stuck.  We had planned to take a rental car to visit my family but there were no rental cars to be had that Christmas Eve.  Somehow our reservation got lost.

We dragged our travel weary bodies to a nice hotel near the airport and decided to make the best of things.   My brother offered to come and get us but we turned down his offer not wanting to disrupt his holiday with a long road trip.

Christmas morning we treated ourselves to a nice breakfast at the hotel dining room.   On the way back to our room, I was overcome with nausea and spent the rest of the day flat in bed.

Here we were on Christmas day with no change of clothes, no family, no tree, and no gifts for my daughter.  Rather than get upset, I decided to count my blessings.   We were safe, we had just had an adventure of a lifetime, we had good food to eat, a nice place to stay and our basic needs were met.  How many people in the world would gladly change places with us at that moment?

Later that day the car rental company found a car for us, I was feeling better and the weather was just perfect for heading north so before the day was over we were able to be with my family for this special day.

I learned a valuable lesson that day.  Christmas is a special time but it isn’t about gifts, decorations and all the external things.   Christmas is realizing that Jesus came to bring us hope…not just a fleeting hope…but a genuine hope that He will work all things together for good to them who are called according to his purpose.   He promised to supply our needs and He did. What more could I need or want?

Father God,
Thank you for the promise of Your provision. Even when things don’t look hopeful help me to anticipate Your help and strength and to see Your blessings where I am today. In Your name, amen.

Questions: How do you respond when things don’t go according to plan?

About this Author: Joyce Gardenour

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, 24-Hour Faith, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog