Heavy Heart

Stitched heart found at DistleFunk2

     Is your heart heavy? Are you feeling weighed down with worry, stress, fear? Lately, it seems like everyone I know seems to be going through some type of tough situation. Perhaps you can relate. News of cancer returning, looming medical bills, lack of income, and physical injuries cover just a few of the situations I have been praying about. Sometimes it seems like I can never do or say enough to help. Often I want to swoop in and "fix" everything. And the truth is, I can't. The word helpless comes to mind. I feel helpless, in that my heart is burdened and weighed down with my inability to make things better.

     As I thought about these feelings, this verse came to mind. Matthew 11:28 says this, "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened (Another version uses heavy laden instead of burdened)..." Wow, heavy-- what a word. Are you like me, in that, you tend to worry yourself to the ground? I will lie awake at night trying to go over in my mind how I can make a situation better. The funny thing is, I know that worrying will not change the situation. Yet, I still do it every time. All that I accomplish is that I wear myself down even further. My battery becomes even less charged until I wake up running on empty.

     The best part is, there is more to that verse. "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Aren't you tired of being tired? Be encouraged! Though you can't "fix" everything, know that there is one who can. It may not be how you think it should be "fixed" but know that there is purpose and wisdom in that far greater than you could ever think or imagine. When you are looking to your mind for the answers, don't forget to look even further. Jeremiah 31:25 says, "I [God] will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." Can you even imagine that? How nice would it feel to be refreshed? To be rejuvenated?

     May you be encouraged that you need not run on empty any longer. Seek Him and His word and He will give you rest.

Written by: Jacklynn Graham from Raising Mavericks
Artwork by: Maggie Montgomery from DistleFunk2