Are HUMILITY and ANXIETY related?
I don't know about you, but when the 'storms' of life come, I am more exhausted than ever, I don't sleep very well. It's ironic. My body is begging to go to sleep but my mind is off running a marathon. Has this ever happened to you?
So it's shocking to me when I read Matthew 8:23-27 which talks about Jesus sleeping through the storm while the disciples ran around like crazy lunatics fearing for their lives. (Maybe I am a disciple just like the ones with Jesus? We apparently react to "storms" in similar ways.)
A few chapters later in Matthew we read...
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden in light.”
I could pretty much get these verses tattooed on my forehead because they are that important.
But enough about my tattoos... let's look at the verses again. In what sense was Jesus meek? How could meekness, or submission to the Father, give us rest for our souls?
How was Jesus "humble in heart"? How could such humility give us rest for our souls?
Is this a new idea for you.... that Christ offers to share the load of your burden on His own shoulders? How does it ease your burden to know that Jesus is carrying it with you?
In closing... let's look at two of my all time favorite verses. Yes... I have a coffee cup with these words on it...
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
WOW!! Could it be true? Might a lack of humility lead to anxiety in our lives? For me, sometimes anxiety has also lead to excessive busyness and I've claimed exhaustion as a status symbol.
I wonder... how much of your busyness is related to anxiety? Are there things in your life you could let go of if you weren't so anxious?
Peter tells us that we can cast our anxiety on Christ because God cares about the little things on your schedule and the to-do list that has become a burden and is robbing us of our rest in Him.
How willing are you to trust Him and put those burdens in His hands?