My lower back and my hips were screaming out to me in immense pain. It felt as though Thor himself was squeezing my hips tightly together, showing me absolutely no mercy, and no matter what I did, the pain followed me from Friday morning until late yesterday evening. The pain was so intense that it impacted the way I walked. The confident sway of my hips that had guided me as I walked to and fro had been replaced by the rigidity and grace of Mr. Tinman from The Wizard of Oz, as I now struggled to find my footing amid the pain. I was fine if I was sitting and I was fine if I was standing, but I experienced pain if I moved from one position to another… and pain also greeted me if I stayed in either position for too long. As I tried to navigate through work on Friday and activities on Saturday and Sunday, I found myself just wanting to give up, go back to sleep, and pray that the pain would be cast away from my body. Yet the words of a beloved song reminded me that even this pain was for God’s good.

---

“Here I am, God, arms wide open….”

The words of Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s song spoke to my heart in a new way. I’ve written about that song in the past, but this time, something new grew within me.

“…pouring out my life, Gracefully Broken.”

As I stepped into the shower Saturday evening, I sang along with Tasha and cried out to my Abba. Through my tears, God was packaging everything that He had spoken to me earlier. You see, He has told me time and time again that my need to control everything was hindering my growth in Him and in life. He told me that in this next season of my life, I would have to either rely on Him for peace of mind as others took the lead, or I would have to live with the pain of attempting to carry everything by myself. Ouch, God; tough choices! In so many words, God had clearly told me that attempting to be a one-woman army would fail and that since He has given me victory through His Son, I should choose the clear path of letting go. He further said that even in that moment, the pain in my hips was a result of me trying to lead when He had been telling me to follow. While God loves the way my persistence and determination show up in the classroom when it comes to caring for His children, He was saying that right now He was gracefully breaking me- humbling me- for this next season.

“God will break you to position
He will break you to promote you
And break you to put you in your right place
But when He breaks you, He doesn’t hurt you
When He breaks you, He doesn’t destroy you, He does it with grace.”

Beloved, while I may not know you and the depths of your life’s journey, what I do know is that you will experience various seasons in your life. I mentioned this a little bit last week when I encouraged you to Protect Your Energy, and I am reinforcing it today. I do not know when your season will transition to God’s next, but I do know that right now He is asking you to share your load.

---

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus is speaking to you and to me, and He is encouraging us to come to Him with all that consumes us so that He can take those burdens from us and, in turn, give us rest. Then in verse 29, He adds that if we take His yoke (which was an instrument/tool that was put onto two oxen so that one could travel with and learn from the other), we will learn from Him and- again- He will give us rest. I don’t know about you, but I LOVE rest, and I absolutely love reading about God promising me rest. Even now, I can’t help but cry as I realize that part of the reason why my neck, back, hips, and feet hurt so much is that I try to do everything alone and without the help and direction of God. Sometimes I am as stubborn as a mule, and it is to my own detriment.

sigh

I want nothing more than for both of us to stand fully in the power of the Lord. I want us to trust Him and take Him at His Word at all times… and that starts today.

Sweet Friend, today is our day to rest.
Be blessed.