By Not Known
The first week into the New Year saw many of us scrambling with our schedules and workloads. Already, some are saying, “I am overwhelmed!” Others used the most often-used phrase, “I have no time.”
Busy? Definitely. No time? Not really. Yes, we live in a pressure-cooker society, but whose society is it? Do you have control? Sure you have. The issue is whether you are willing to do something about it in an intentional and committed manner.
Today we take a look at the importance of focus and trusting God by faith (Mt 8:18-27). In Mt 11:28-30, Jesus invites us to take up His yokes and in turn will take up ours, makes them light and gives us rest. You believe that?
Yokes are those wooden harnesses that drape oxen to guide them to till the land. They are heavy and often are used to describe “burdens.” For us, our yokes may be obligations, responsibilities, assignments, tasks, liabilities, constraints, burdens, requirements, etc.
Jesus says, let me take them. How?
Surrender.
Ask ourselves why are we still holding on to these yokes? Am I actually trying to meet my own needs for purposefulness in doing so? What gains do I really have in keeping them?
Be available.
Take a moment to check your order. Are they really yours or God’s?
Plan for times of reflection.
Take time for intentional prayers for the day’s demands. The lesser time spent on this, the more fretful life becomes. Take time too for personal retreats and get away to enjoy God’s company and refreshment.
Test what you hear.
God’s calling is always in line with His word. Take time to listen to His voice and hear Him speak in a personal way.
Discern God’s timetable.
Our impatience often brings us down. Avoid the temptation that our society forces us into. Don’t take things into our own hands before God’s time.
Be faithful.
When you can be faithful in little things, you can be trusted in more important things. Listen to the Lord’s exhortation to His disciples when they were crossing the Sea of Galilee with Him on the same boat as they encountered the storm: “Why are you afraid? O you of little faith?”
Peter Poon