HEAVY
LADEN AND OVERBURDENED
BREAD
1 My
soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my
salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Psalms 62:1-2 (NIV)
1 I love
you, O Lord, my strength. 2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my
rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my
stronghold. 3 I call
to the Lord, who is worthy of
praise, and I am saved from my enemies. Psalms 18:1-3 (NIV)
“Let
the beloved of the Lord rest
secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders.” Deuteronomy 33:12 (NIV)
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my
yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew
11:28-30 (NIV)
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God
is full of compassion. 6 The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I
was in great need, he saved me. 7 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. 8 For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, 9 that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Psalms 116:5-9 (NIV)
39 The
salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the
wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him. Psalms 37:39-40 (NIV)
28 Do you
not know? Have you not heard? The Lord
is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow
tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men
stumble and fall; 31 but
those who hope in the Lord will
renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and
not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31 (NIV)
2 “When
I came, why was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer?
Was my arm too short to ransom you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? By a
mere rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert; their fish rot for
lack of water and die of thirst. 3 I clothe the sky with darkness and make sackcloth its
covering.” Isaiah 50:2-3 (NIV)
26 Then
the word of the Lord came to
Jeremiah: 27 “I am
the Lord, the God of all mankind.
Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah
32:26-27 (NIV)
BUTTER
“‘Dost
thou want nothing, O poor soul? Hast
thou nothing to ask? Oh yes! You say, a great deal. Well then, draw near to thy gracious King and
Bridegroom without fear. Lo! He holds out His golden scepter to thee,
saying, ‘Only ask: not the half, but the
whole of My kingdom shall be granted; nay, I will give myself unto thee!’ O dear soul, pray, and tell Him everything
that is wanting, be it ever so great or ever so small. His loving-kindness will hear even the least petition; nay, He will
seem to be ignorant of what thou dost not tell Him. But whatever is poured out before Him is
actually addressed and lodged in its proper place, and does not lie upon thy
heart any longer, but upon His heart, which cannot rest till you are
relieved. And if you have experienced
His help aforetime in great or small things, you may depend on His readiness to
help you out of troubles hereafter; only be earnest in prayer for His
help. We often imagine we were willing
and drawing near to Him, but He was unwilling, and refused our request; but it
is not so: He rather draws us, and
desires our relief more than we do; for it is He that works even this willing
mind.” K.H. Von Bogatzky
“There is hardship in everything except
eating pancakes.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“God has a multitude of
reasons for allowing our troubling situations.
Perhaps He is working on some of the people in our lives. Maybe He is working out His timing to reap
the maximum harvest when His solution comes in the end. Or He could be proving a point to His enemy
about His glory, as He did with Job – and your reaction is the key. Maybe He is even working on us – our
character flaws, personality issues, or spiritual growth. Unpruned trees bear less fruit, so He must
shapes us differently. But we’re
surprised – and angry – when His pruning hand is not as gentle as we’d
like. The question we need to settle in
our hearts is whether we believe God is good.
It isn’t hard to hold such a belief when His blessings seem
bountiful. But the blessing of hardship? We wonder where His favor has gone. We grow distant, resentful, and bitter over
the harshness of His loving hand. Like a
child who has just been spanked – or simply told ‘no’ – we pout. God just doesn’t seem fair.” Chris Tiegreen
“God promises us
redemption, but His sacred path leads us away from safety, predictability, and
comfort. Any attempt to fly over the
dangerous terrain or make a detour to safer ground is doomed because it will
not take us to God. Instead, it leads to
a host of other idols that can’t provide us with the confidence of faith, the
dynamic of hope or the passion of love we so deeply crave. Each day we either live for God or for other
gods. In each moment of hardship we fear
either God or man. When we choose to
worship gods and fear men our lives will suffer an emptiness and turmoil that
is not much different than trying to fill our bellies with dirt. At first we may feel full, but in short order
our violation of God’s plan will lead to torment.” Dan
Allender
“A fixed, constant attention
to the promises, and a firm belief in them, would prevent solicitude and
anxiety about the concerns of this life. It would keep the mind quiet and
composed in every change, and support and keep up our sinking spirits under the
several troubles of life….Christians deprive themselves of their most solid comforts
by their unbelief and forgetfulness of God’s promises. For there is no extremity so great but there
are promises suitable to it, and abundantly sufficient for our relief in it.” Samuel
Clarke
“God will never permit any troubles
to come upon us unless He has a specific plan by which great blessing can come
out of the difficulty.” Peter Marshall
“Reflect on your present blessings
of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men
have some.” Charles Dickens
“When the child of the King finds
themselves discouraged, burdened and heavy-laden, their first objective is to lean
into the Lord and through the mighty power of the Holy Spirit - Whom indwells every
believer in Jesus - commit to not complaining, to making their home bright and
cheerful, to counting their blessings and to seek to turn the circumstance into
gain. When the believer goes about such things
as these – not through their own strength but through the strength of the One
Who owns them – they will discover a peace that can withstand any trial this
fallen world presents. Jesus tells
us: 26 But
the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will
teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to
you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be
afraid. (John 14:26-27 NIV). We need only trust Him.” BHY
HEART SAVOR
- · To all toiling, tired, depleted comrades of the Savior He beckons “Come”.
- · His promise is “Peace” for the troubled souls of His children.
- · I have a part – through His power – to not complain, to being a light for my home, to counting my blessings and to seek to turn the circumstance into gain.
