Bible reading: Mark 9:17-27; Matthew 11:28
Bible Verse: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 KJV
My daughter was about three years old when we were building our second house. On the weekends, we would often go into town to purchase building supplies. Now, the home improvement store can either be really boring for young children or offer a lot of temptation with a plethora of things to climb on and in. This particular Saturday, we stopped for pizza on the way. When the breadsticks arrived, my daughter said the blessing, but where we expected the “Amen,” she paused, then added, “Please, Lord, help me be good at the store.” My daughter knew she could not fight the temptation alone. So, she asked for help.
In Mark 10:15, Jesus says, “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein” (KJV). He wants us to trust Him completely. Just as we want our kids to come to us with any problem, no matter how big or small, we have a Heavenly Father who wants us to humbly put our trust in Him to handle our every need and have faith that He knows what is best for us.
The Gospel of Mark recounts the story of a man who comes to Jesus asking Him to heal his son who is being tormented by an evil spirit. In response to the man’s request for help, Jesus replies, “…If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth” (Mark 9:23, King James Version). I picture this father standing before Jesus with tears streaming down his face, frightened and desperate for his son to be free, afraid that the belief he has will not be enough. He looks to Jesus and cries out, “…Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:24 KJV).
Wherever you are right now… whatever your need, our Savior wants you to come to Him… to trust Him with your burdens. No matter how big or how small… maybe today, you just need Him to be with you at the store… He wants you to come to Him. Or maybe it’s something so worrisome and heavy that you are having trouble trusting Him and completely giving it into His hands, He wants you to ask for help.
Jesus says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 KJV).
May we come unto Jesus and find rest today.
