Learning Along The Way

Where is rest?

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I hope you are actively choosing time to be in God’s Word. I know it’s a challenge. I know it’s hard to find a quiet moment. I know there are so many distractions. I know you’re tired.

New Flash: CHALLENGES WILL NEVER COMPLETELY GO AWAY!

The challenges you face now may be overcome or go away but they will change to others. It’s reality. The perfect circumstance you’re waiting for isn’t a regular part of this world. Perhaps a fleeting moment will be a gift to remind you of the promise of eternity future, but all the current issues simply serve as excuses to not make time for God and His Word to us and for us.

Now that’s out in the open, what are you going to do about it?

Here’s the next passage as we continue to meditate on Matthew 11:28-30

“…and you will find rest for your souls.”

I study from the NASB and my Open Bible has links to other related verses. In this particular passage, Jesus is quoting from the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 6:16 says:

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. 

But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.'”

Jesus is reminding us that rest and peace are offered us as we lean in to Him and walk with Him.

The unfortunate reality is we often choose our own way instead of His.

But God remains faithful to walk with us through the questions, through the pain and into healing, and will continue to do so. These truths are for each one of us.

The question remains: will I choose to make time with God a priority in my days?

What feels like a chore at first will become a life giving ‘have-to-have’ like air and food and water. I promise. Better yet, God promises.

“…and you will find rest for your souls.”

 

Gentle? Humble? Where’s an Example of Those Traits?

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I hope you have been gleaning wonderful nuggets of comfort and encouragement as well as impetus to grow spiritually as we have reflected on these verses this summer. If you’re dropping in today for the first time, we’ve been reading and meditating on Matthew 11:28-30.

Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Jesus

If you’re interested in reading the past reflections, I recommend starting with Word on Wednesday.

This week’s passage for reflection  “…for I am gentle and humble in heart…”

Once again, English does not clearly convey the same meaning the original language of this passage conveys.

Gentle may give connotations of tender or soft.

Humble may give connotations of letting others have their way, or being “less than”.

Neither could be further from the original intent.

Gentle means strength under control; like a powerful stallion under bridle. The horse can literally run away with its rider, easily overpowering the weaker human but instead submits itself to the direction given with the bridle.

Photo by Gül Kurtaran on Unsplash

 

Humble means to be emptied of self.  (which is not only difficult to do but even harder to find an image to convey the word!)

Where some have said Jesus Christ was simply a good teacher and didn’t have strength to stand up to Rome or the Jewish leaders, understanding these words now, perhaps you can see the bigger picture of His gentle and humble nature within the context of the full counsel of God.

Jesus chose humility (Phil 2) He embodied the characteristics of the Messiah the Jews were waiting for (Zechariah 9:9) He modeled what a life with God looks like.

Jesus tells us how following Him in faith is easier than the works of other religious systems. Being a Christ-follower is easier because He does the work, the effort, and the Helper, Holy Spirit, gives us strength to come alongside Jesus in our daily life.

So how does this look for you? Perhaps it begins with a simple prayer of acknowledgement: ” I am not able to get through this day without your strength, wisdom and grace. Help me look to You in my moments today.” OR maybe it’s a “Jesus Help Me” prayer in the middle of little people!

The important part of the prayer is FAITH. Believe He will give you what you NEED. It’s not always what you WANT. But it’s always what you NEED.

Jesus is inviting us to come along with Him moment by moment. The result is what we need.

Keep meditating, reflecting and memorizing!

What Does it Mean to Learn from Jesus?

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If you’ve visited before, you’re used to me musing on passages of Scripture and trying to see how these sacred words apply to life today. I’ve been unpacking Matthew 11:28-30 going phrase by phrase.

This week’s phrase is the crux of discipleship.

“…learn from Me…”

What does it mean to learn from Jesus?  How does one do that exactly?

It’s simple and hard at the same time.  Remember the yoke? Getting in step with Jesus, leaning in and going along the Way that He has started for you, staying in step, getting back in step when you stumble (not IF…WHEN…)

It's guaranteed that we will get out of step with Jesus. He is mindful of our frame. Jesus doesn't want to leave you behind, or walk away from you. He has promised never to leave you or forget you, so when you get out of step He patiently… Click To Tweet

This act of learning from Jesus is a life long process and an integral part of our journey here. Don’t expect to do it perfectly. But do expect Him love and encourage you along the Way.

Out of curiosity I googled that very phrase: learn from Jesus.  As I expected, the results were fascinating and diverse.

I’m including three links for you to explore as you consider how to learn from Jesus.

10 Bible Verses About Learning From Jesus

5 Life Lessons I Learned from Jesus 

These first two are written from Christ followers. This next doesn’t name Jesus as part of the Godhead but references scripture so Truth is being told.

21 Life Lessons Even Non-Christians Can Learn From Jesus

Clearly there is a lot we can learn from Jesus.  He offers Himself to us moment by moment by the empowering Presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit.  He does the work.

Our one job is to stay close.

 

Why Would I Wear a Yoke?!

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How is meditating and memorizing this passage from the gospel of Matthew going?  I am so appreciative of those who have encouraged us with what they have gleaned from the passage so far; praying that others of you are deepening your faith and trust in our great triune God!

This week let’s take a look at the beginning of Matthew 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you…”

Not growing up a farm girl (although I have longed for that focused lifestyle many times!) I needed to get a good picture in my mind of what a yoke is.

An interesting thing to know: when a young ox is being trained to wear the yoke and pull its weight, it is yoked with a stronger ox that actually carries the burden while the young one is learning to simply wear the yoke.

The yoke was a very common, visible word picture for those listening to Jesus. Not only was it common but it also held religious significance to those in first century Palestine.

* A yoke was a symbol of a Master-Servant relationship

* A yoke was referenced within the early teaching of the Mosaic Law. There are two yokes: the Yoke of the Kingdom of God, and the Yoke of the Commandments (Law).

How can this background information influence our understanding of what Jesus is talking about? We have to dig a little deeper…

From a rabbinical teaching about the Yoke of the Kingdom of God:

If we believe all *this to be true, then the opportunity to show our allegiance to the will of God— accepting the yoke of God’s kingdom—may be understood as a gracious gift.

If we accept the mitzvah (command) of making this God our God, not just symbolically or rhetorically, then we must also accept the rule of this Sovereign. 

  However, to be in this harness, to take upon ourselves this yoke, is not to be enslaved, but to be enabled, given the opportunity to make all life flourish. 

*(all this- is referring to the belief in God as He reveals Himself in Scripture)

From Matthew Henry’s Commentary regarding taking on Jesus’ yoke:

It requires self-denial, and exposes to difficulties, but this is abundantly repaid, even in this world, by inward peace and joy. It is a yoke that is lined with love. So powerful are the assistances he gives us, so suitable the encouragements, and so strong the consolations to be found in the way of duty, that we may truly say, it is a yoke of pleasantness. 

So we are back to Jesus’ telling us to “take My yoke upon you…”

Am I willing to be in a harness with Jesus? To walk with Him at His pace, doing the things He has in mind for the day? What does this cost me? What do I gain? Click To Tweet

Are you?

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What is Filling Your Thoughts?

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How is the memorizing going so far? 3 short phrases that can be fit together now:

Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

I’ve spent some time investigating rest, learning about it and, dare I say, practicing it. I’ve learned to appreciate the gift that rest is. I’m not talking about a weekend away from the routine; that’s more like a retreat. This verse is meant to take place in the everyday busy-ness we encounter.

There isn’t a mystery of interpretation to this phrase. But it is pregnant with meaning.

The word I is a personal pronoun attributed to the speaker, who in this case is Jesus.

Rest means what it says. Rest. Ceasing from activity.

Photo by Marko Kovic on Unsplash

 

Jesus will give you rest.  He sees how busy we are. He knows how physically tired we can get. He knows what it feels like to be thirsty, in pain, lonely; whatever you are dealing with today. He knows.

And He will give you rest.

How you might ask? Is He going to come babysit? Or take care of my ailing parent? Or, or, or,…

You know by now that I am a context girl so stopping at this phrase without putting it together within the context is hard. I don’t want to run ahead to the weeks to come but I do want you to know, to become aware of, the comfort this sentence can bring.

Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.

It is an invitation.

If we slow our racing thoughts; if we slow our frantic pace; if we actively pause and look in His direction, He is waiting in the wings of our lives to give us that comfort & rest. A sigh. A deep breath. A slow exhale. Click To Tweet

Maybe you need to hide in the bathroom to make that rest happen. Perhaps it’s simply a pause of thought and action even as you read this post.

Jesus knows. He sees. He cares. He comforts.

He gives rest.

Let us know how you practice pushing the pause button in your days. We all need encouragement to find ways of practicing. Using that word is a reminder that we are all learners.

I highly recommend pushing pause daily.

Monday Motivation: Meditation to Action

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It’s Monday. I’m facing it down and showing up. I’m also choosing to find motivation from my meditations. In my mind this is where the rubber meets the road, where my feet walk out what my heart is leaning toward. My attitude and action are under my control. For a recovering Control Freak that is an important awareness. I do have control over some things!!

Our attitudes are our choices.

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

We can choose how we respond to any given situation. We have control of our response. We also have control of our thoughts. You may struggle with “monkey mind” like I do as an Enneagram 7 but even our thoughts can be captured and wrangled into submission. In coaching we talk a lot about mindset. It’s not touchy-feely, it’s neurobiology-a field of science that studies how our brain works, learns, how our feelings impact brain function, and so much more!

You don’t have to stay stuck in a rut in your thought pattern. You have the power to choose.

Let’s use a fairly common internal dialogue as an example: You make a mistake with someone’s name. In your thoughts you tell yourself a story about your memory. It’s not a nice way to talk to anyone, but you call yourself a name and pair it with how your memory works. You have just created a neuropathway about your ability to remember names.

Guess what? Your brain looks for connections to string thoughts together in order for the brain to work more efficiently. The pathway gets strengthened every time you tell yourself that story. This is how your thoughts get formed and you get in a rut of stinking thinking.

How can you change that pattern?

Step 1: Pay Attention. Listen to the way you think about a circumstance.

Step 2: Stop it!

Photo by Luke van Zyl on Unsplash

The moment you recognize you’ve had a repeat thought that you want to change, you stop, acknowledge the negative thought as the “old way” of thinking.

Step 3: Immediately tell yourself the new Truth you want to replace the old thought with. It’s helpful to actually say it aloud if your circumstances allow.

Ancient wisdom tells us much about our thoughts. We can be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We can let our minds dwell or camp on Truth not on lies.

I’ve been sharing my meditations on Matthew 11:28-30 on Wednesdays this month. You can read the past ones here and here. There is ongoing benefit to meditation with your brain function too, but I won’t overload you with neuroscience! Just know that there are a multitude of benefits for meditating on God’s Word, one of them being transformation.

As a coach, I’m all about transformation. I’m pretty sure that’s aligned with God’s heart for us since we’re called to grow in Christ-likeness. Learning how to let go of thoughts and habits that keep us from being all we can be, learning to lean in with Jesus is worthy life work.

Let’s make meditation transfer to action. If you have questions about what the process of coaching with me is like, let me know. I’m happy to address your questions here or any of the other places you can find me: online or on the phone!

Learn a new Way. Take a step forward. Reach out for help & accountability.

 

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