City Life Starter

I. The WORD

Psalm 23:1-2 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

II. Reflection Questions

1. Can you verbalize specifically what you are worried/anxious about right now and why?
2. Do you want to stop worrying?
3. Do you think you can stop worrying on your own, without any help?

By Heather Mattingly

Our Lord commands us not to worry. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us, “…do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matt 6:25).

We live in a fast-paced, worry-filled culture. Our culture is constantly screaming at us that we must be “more, more, more.” We must be “better than__/faster than___/stronger than___/have more money than ____/have more success than ____/have a better-looking family than ____” in order to be good enough. And since we don’t ever reach these things, we worry. This is the mindset that is accepted as the norm. So, how do we carry out His command not to worry? Our Lord Jesus is a good shepherd. He does not command something of His sheep without giving the ability to do it.

In Psalm 23:1-2, did you see the word “makes?” “He makes me lie down in green pastures…” That word “makes” implies that the sheep either doesn’t want to lie down or doesn’t know how to. After being amidst tiny children, I believe it’s the latter. Children want what they want immediately, and are fast-paced. It’s not that they will not wait, they physically cannot wait. They’re just not there yet! Which is OK! Waiting is a learned skill, and it is a process. I’ve never met a human who came out of the womb into this world knowing instinctively how to wait, or how to “lie down in green pastures” or walk by “still waters.” Think about it: have you ever seen a little child who was docile and quiet at all times? If you did, you would probably think something was wrong. Even though we are physical adults, we are no different from children: we want what we want when we want it (now), and we don’t like waiting. If we do have to wait, then we worry. “What if ___ doesn’t happen? Or what if ____ doesn’t happen the way I want it? What if I’m forgotten?”

Jesus tells us He will help us. “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30) For many of us, we take His yoke as a last resort – our own burden (our worries and anxieties) is just too heavy to bear by ourselves anymore. And then, we find that His burden weighs nothing because it is Him actually doing the work through us.

Have you ever seen a yoke before? It is made for two, is even on both sides, and is custom-made. It is not a picture of you stepping into Jesus’ yoke, it is a picture of Jesus stepping into your yoke. Whatever size your burden, He will step into it. But only if you invite Him. When you invite Him into your worries, you are “taking” His yoke upon you. All He wants is to be with you. Then, you will find that although you still don’t see how you’re going to get out of this situation, your burden is somehow lighter. And then it keeps getting lighter and lighter. You don’t know how to “lie down in green pastures” in the midst of your burden, but He does. And then, one day, without you even consciously trying, your burden you thought was unbearable is gone.

Prayer

“Jesus, I have this situation of _____ that I’m worried about. I want to do what You say, which is “not worry,” and give this situation to You, but I don’t know how. Will You help me?”