Not Too Busy

John 16:33 - I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

Do you think God is busy?  Like He has a lot on His plate every minute of every day?  I would say He is.  The awesome thing about Him (one of so many) is that He is not too busy for any one of us.

In Matthew's Gospel Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).  Not just some of us are invited, but all of us are.  He doesn't just promise us rest from most things, but all things.  There were no caveats at the end of that statement.

Recently, during a message at church, the Pastor said to not be afraid to ask God for help when we are struggling with a sin.  While that should be an obvious point, I caught myself reflecting on how I handle my own sins and shortcomings.

When I was first saved, over 16 years ago, it was while I was attempting to overcome my issues with addiction.  I spent the next 10 or 11 years, trying to work out everything else on my own.  And from time to time, I still do that.  I catch myself thinking that "Jesus did the hard part when he willingly died on the cross so that I could be saved, so I'll figure out the rest."  But that's not what God wants for me, or for any of us.

He wants us to come to Him regularly and to cast our problems at His feet.  He wants us to bring  those heavy burdens that are making us weary, and turn them over to Him.  That's how He gives us the rest we need.  The passage in Matthew doesn't say, "I'll help you with some things."  This passage in John doesn't say, "I have overcome most of the things that cause problems in the world."  Jesus overcame everything with His voluntary death on the cross so that we could have rest and peace.

It's easy for us to think that whatever we may be dealing with might be too trivial to bother God with.  But since His job isn't open for hiring, and Heaven isn't looking for new management, why don't we let God decide what is too trivial.  He has desired an intimate love relationship with us since the beginning of time (that's quite a while), so I would say that nothing is too trivial.  He has taken care to count the hairs on our head (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7), and knows the stars by name (Psalm 147:4; Isaiah 40:26), so I'd say He's not too busy to listen to every single prayer we lift up to Him.

Jesus told us to ask for anything in His name, and He will do it (John 16:24).  If we aren't asking, He won't act.  He knows what's on our hearts, but we have to ask.  He will not come where He isn't invited.  The redeeming power of the cross didn't stop working when we accepted His sacrifice and invited Him into our hearts and lives.  It is an ongoing, daily power that works in our lives to heal us.  A great Pastor once told me that just because we are saved doesn't mean we are sinless, it means we sin less.  We need that daily, ongoing healing power of the cross.

As I have proven to myself time and again, I'm not capable of  overcome my issues by my own strength.  I need Jesus to heal and restore me on a daily basis.  We all need Jesus to heal and restore us on a daily basis.  Fortunately, He's not too busy to listen and answer.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for carrying all my burdens and sins with You on the cross.  Thank You for reminding me that You are not too busy to listen and heal me.  I trust that You will give me the help I need to overcome any and all sins that are separating me from You because of Your desire to have an intimate love relationship with me.  I pray for those that are struggling to overcome on their own.  My prayer is that they will stop and ask for Your help.  I pray they will remember that You are not too busy for them, and that You care about them more than they could ever fully know in this lifetime.  I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, Redeemer, and Healer.  Amen!



God Bless!!!