Are you tired?

by Mary Meyer

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

      So often, I’m so tired.  Between school and work, I chase from one task to another and get worn out.  Have you ever been so tired that you couldn’t keep your eyes open, no matter how hard you tried?  Doctors say that kids anywhere from the ages of 6-13 need about 9-11 hours of sleep.  Teenagers need 8-10 hours, and adults need 7-9 hours (Mayo Clinic). When we don’t get that amount of sleep in a night, our bodies feel weak and tired.  When we are overtired, we turn to our beds, cuddle up with a blanket and drift into dreamy sleep.
      
      There’s another kind of tired, though, that sleep alone can’t cure.  When Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened” (Matthew 11:28), he wasn’t talking so much about being physically tired, but about being mentally, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. That happens to us because of how sin-burdened our whole world is (cf. Romans 8:22-24).  When life in this world is wearing us down, Jesus calls out to us, inviting us into his open arms.  “I will give you rest,” he said (Matthew 11:28).  When a nap isn’t enough, Jesus wraps us up in his love.  We don’t need to worry about the big science test coming up, or be frustrated by obstacles in life that make us feel overwhelmed.  We have God’s constant promises.  We have his powerful hand reassuring us that he will always take care of us.  “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:32)?  When we are sick, when we have committed a sin, when we are just plain tired of our busy lives, Jesus is there as our spiritual resting place. He tells us that he loves us, he forgives us, and that he will have his hand on our shoulders in every time of need. 
      
      The next time you feel that things are getting too hard or that your body aches with tiredness, fold your hands, bow your head, and rely on Christ’s all-encompassing love to comfort you. Jesus cares for you.  In him always you will find the rest that you need. 
      
      
Prayer:  
Dear Savior, lift us up when we feel weak, give us comfort when we feel burdened, and give us rest when we feel tired. We know that you care about us and our needs, because you died under the weight of all our sins and rose again to bring us back to life.  Help us to feel awake and free, so that we may sing your praise forever. Amen.

His Healing Grace

by Molly Peavy

A country of abuse, neglect, and unhealed hurts.  It didn’t take long for this aspect of current Chinese culture to imprint itself in our minds. Dogs and cats being beaten outside of our apartment, women in the market with hand-shaped bruises around their necks, our screaming neighbors … these memories cannot be quickly forgotten. Where once pride and honor were of highest priority, men beat wives and children and sons assault their mothers while fathers look on with amused expressions.

These sad images are all symptoms of a sickness, the sickness of souls … a sickness which pervades cultures everywhere on earth. Without faith, we are all born enemies of God, sinners sinking deeper into our condition. How could we expect love and compassion to rule when our Savior rules in so few hearts? Where will people learn of grace? Where will generosity or compassion be experienced? Not in Shanghai’s streets, crowded with the ignored unfortunate, not on the subway where seats are stolen from weary elders with heavy groceries, not in the neighborhoods where confused animals are hurt for amusement.

We felt horror and revulsion, much like Jonah must have felt with the Ninevites.  But we then realized that this could easily be us were we without the knowledge of the Lord’s loving forgiveness. The urgent need for his word became obvious. Hope for the downtrodden, forgiveness for the oppressors, reprieve for the wounded of body and spirit—our Lord has infinite riches to offer morally bankrupt human cultures. We were able to bring Christ’s healing word to our students and staff, and reprieve to an abused kitten (as pictured), but there is still so much work to be done through prayer, offerings, and gifts of time and self. Let us all approach our mission in this world—wherever we may be—with the message of God’s healing love and grace. 

• Molly wrote this piece while she and her husband Doug were serving in Shanghai, China.