Strength is His Crown

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

“Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis.” – (Matthew 11:28, TPT) 

 

As a teacher on winter break, I have felt burden-free for nearly a week. Strangely, each afternoon, I have hit a lull point, where I find myself fighting to stay awake. Rather than give in to the weariness, I have been brewing a cup of coffee, and moving on to whatever is next. My Fitbit stopped syncing nearly a month ago, so I had no access to my sleep data. This morning, I did not hear my husband’s alarm, and did not wake until he leaned over to give me a kiss goodbye. Out of curiosity, I checked to see if my Fitbit had synced and would let me know my length of sleep. Incredibly, it somehow began syncing yesterday, and the time sleeping feature, was suddenly in place for the entire last week. To my surprise, I discovered that I had not slept more than five or six hours each night, so apparently, last night, the rest my body needed, was granted. Seven and a half hours of sleep in one night is far closer to the recommended rest we ought to receive. Even though I did not realize I needed it, the rest my body required, was granted. The Lord provides what we need, even when we are unaware ourselves. May we ever seek Him to lay down our burdens and find true rest, as the Lord is our strength, song, and space of restoration. 

 

Give God your burdens,

Seek Him to find rest; 

He grants what’s needed, 

And He knows us best. 

Come all you weary, 

Lay your burdens down; 

Allow Him carry, 

For strength is His crown. 

Seek the Lord also, 

To truly know rest; 

His grace abundant, 

As love is expressed. 

For some it is sleep, 

Our just to slow down; 

Whatever the need, 

Provision is found. 

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that we can come to You with our burdens and weariness, and You supply us rest. Thank You that You are stronger than the weight of any burden we bear, and You know the sort of rest our bodies, minds and spirits require. Forgive us for ignoring the signals our bodies have been designed to give us when weariness comes, and attempting to power through, where You are ready to grant us rest. Teach us to trust You more, so that we would lay our burdens down before You, and seek You to supply the rest that we need most. Show us how to love those around us in a way that lightens loads and grants room to rest where it is needed most. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we bring our burdens before You and seek You to grant us rest. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him. – Psalm 62:5

Grow the Good

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. – (2 Peter 1:5-8, NIV)

Because you have these blessings, do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God; to your devotion add kindness towards your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love. If all these things in you are growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. – (2 Peter 1:5-8, ERV)

 

We should never stop striving to grow in the good to which we are called. Every avenue of growth in God grants room to grow further in the next. Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection and love all multiply as we dig deeper in our faith and pursue our Heavenly Father and all that He has for us. As we grow, His goodness shows, and others gain from that which is being developed deeper within our hearts. May we ever seek the Lord to grow us in our faith, so that He may increase within us, allowing that which flows from us to be a reflection of Him to the world.

 

Please grow our faith Lord,

Photo by Dee Jones of Open Door Photography ❤

So we may reflect;

All good that’s from You,

Love, honor, respect.

As our faith does grow,

So too, does the good;

Knowledge and wisdom,

Restraint understood.

With perseverance,

We start to reflect;

The heart of Jesus,

Who loves and accepts.

Affection given,

And also returned;

Increases our love,

With practice, we learn.

So, keep on growing,

In faith and in love;

This is effective,

As God’s placed above.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that as we seek to grow in You, You increase all that is good within us. Thank You that as our faith grows, so too does our goodness, knowledge, self-control, capacity to persevere, our likeness to Your nature, our affection for others, and our ability to love as we are loved by You. Forgive us for not seeking You to grow in us all the good that You have for us. Teach us to trust You more so that we would rely on You to grow us more like You. Show us how to navigate our days, growing more into who You are calling us to become. Help us to love others in the same way that You love each of us. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we seek Your heart so that we may be effective in giving the good that You so lavishly give to each of us.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence. – Acts 2:28