Exhausted: Cease Striving

God never intended for His children to remain striving and exhausted. Indeed, He desires for us to rest secure in Him - emptying ourselves of ourselves and being filled with the Holy Spirit. We are to go forth in His strength as we seek to bring heaven to earth through His power and for His glory. His desire is for us to lavish His love on others; to radiate His joy, to be permeated by His peace; to be filled with His patience; to captivate others with His kindness; to be saturated with His goodness; to be unswerving in His faithfulness; to be embracing others with His gentleness; and to be exemplifying His self-control.  All impossible in the flesh. All possible in the Spirit.  “We can’t do it, He never said we could. He can do it, He always said He would”, my old preacher used to say. Yet, in our self-conscious, insecure ways we do and do and do and do and our pride convinces us to keep trying until we are ragged and flat out worn out.  Turn to Jesus. And all the while Jesus is saying to us “Come”. Come all of you who are heavy laden. Come all of you who are buried in burdens, toils and strife.  Come shed your yoke of selfish ambitions and vain conceits getting you nowhere fast and be yoked to me. It is I Who will give you rest.

The greatest joy one can ever know on this side of Heaven is to be a vessel of use in the Master’s Hand.  We are to let His light shine through us pointing those in our spheres to Him – making much of Him and not of us. As John the Baptist stated in John 3:30: “He must become greater; I must become less.” Our purpose was never meant to make much of ourselves, rather make much of Him. Remember, one never outgives God. Whatever “meager” sacrifice we may make for Him He so blesses that it seems as no sacrifice at all. Remember as well, the servant is not greater than the Master. If Jesus was not carried to heaven on a bed of down why on earth do we think we will be?  

Go forth in His power for His glory and watch what He will do in and through you. It is taking hold of the life that is truly life and is unearthly in its nature.