Resting in His Plan

“Come to me, all you 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” (Matthew 11: 28-30)

I have a tendency to push for what I believe in. Years ago, when I was doing some investigative reporting, I learned a banking empire was conducting illegal practices, so I did not rest until I exposed the truth to the public. I lived and breathed this bank, and was not always well received when I showed up on its doorstep. As a result of numerous media reports like mine, the bank eventually failed.

However, since then, as a follower of Christ, I’ve learned we don’t have to strive to follow Jesus. If we trust him with our lives, he will open the doors we are to walk through. He will provide the opportunities. He will give us favor when we are where he wants us.

When Jesus sent his disciples out to proclaim his message, he told them not to push if they were not wanted. “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet” (Matthew 10:14).

When Paul came face to face with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, what did Jesus tell him in Aramaic? “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14). According to author and pastor Chuck Swindoll, “Goads were typically made from slender pieces of timber, blunt on one end and pointed on the other. Farmers used the pointed end to urge a stubborn ox into motion. Occasionally, the beast would kick at the goad. The more the ox kicked, the more likely the goad would stab into the flesh of its leg, causing greater pain.”

Jesus may have been after Paul for years, as Paul pushed in the wrong direction, but he didn’t listen.

Do you have a tendency to insist on your own way, or do you let the Holy Spirit lead you?

Sure, you can have a plan, but give the plan over to God. Ask him to fine-tune it. Be willing to throw it out, if it’s not what he desires for you. Always rest your life in the Lord’s hands. Proverbs 21:30 says, “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.”

We have to learn to quit kicking against the goads because we only cause ourselves pain and disappointment.

So do I still push? Yes, to a point. But when I realize there is an impasse, I know that it must not be the Lord’s will, because his yoke is easy and his burden is light.  After making my case to no avail, I shake the dust off my feet and move a different direction.

What about you? Have you learned to let go of your agenda so that God can have his way in your life? Will you attempt to pry open the sealed door, or walk through the open door where he is waiting to lead you?

His way brings joy. His path provides peace. In God’s plan we find rest. (LBW)