Miracle Week

It’s been a week of miracles. One after another, they seem to be falling into our lap. We’re now one week from leaving for training in New York City, and all the final details are crystallizing.

This morning, as I was doing my daily prayer time, I ran across these familiar words from Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.”

It hit me like a stack of King James Bibles – the walk of discipleship is actually supposed to be easy! The burden of discipleship is not heavy, it’s light! So why am I making it so difficult?

This means, when I think that being a disciple is hard labor, the problem is me, not the One who called me! If I find that following Christ is tedious and draining, the problem is within me, not in the task that I am called to do.

Being a minister, a pastor, a missionary, a Sunday School teacher – these tasks are not hard. They are not given to us in order to overwhelm us or load us down with difficulty. In fact, Jesus promises that when we walk in his ways, we will actually find rest for our souls. The more we do in obedience to him, the more relaxed and laidback we will become – at least, that’s how I hear these words of Jesus!

I’m probably just like you. I add a bunch of emotional baggage to the job of being a disciple. Over the last few weeks, I’ve even allowed myself to get worried and stressed about moving to Cameroon and becoming a missionary.

Most recently, I have been deeply worried about the financial implications of this move. And yet, time and time again, a check comes in the mail, a gift comes through the door, a surprise is waiting around the corner. It always catches me off-guard, but it shouldn’t.

Because this trusting and obeying thing is easy. It really is.

I could get used to this ...