To be a Christian is the most authentic way to be.
It fully expresses what it means to follow Jesus, and following Him is challenging. If it were easy, Jesus wouldn’t have said “take up your cross and follow me”. A cross is heavy. A cross is not an accessory to hold on to quickly as you go shopping for groceries. A cross requires great thought and strategy to handle especially when you’re meant to be holding on to it every second of every day for all your life. Yet, in God’s estimations this yoke is easy. In fact, it is the very thing to be holding on to when you are weary.
Matthew 11:28-29 says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. God’s ways are truly not like ours.
If you’ve received salvation and agreed to take this yoke, you’ve likely experienced moments of joy where you feel anointed with incomparable gladness. Like David, you rejoice because you have God. You marvel that a great God would love you so much that He gave His most valuable Son to be crucified. In those moments, you count your blessings and sing songs of praise, realizing that with God, you have everything, and nothing else matters.
But then, something happens—a prayer goes unanswered for a long time, and hope begins to fade after holding on for so long. After repeating the same prayers and commanding yourself to rejoice in the Lord, you feel worn out. You may even want to give yourself a break from hope, because hope is hard work.
Deep down, though, you know you can’t stay in despair for too long. Satan waits to devour, and if you’ve lived long enough, you know you can’t let him steal any more from you. You realize you can’t remain defenseless, allowing his devils to find a place within you.
What then do you do because whatever it is, you need to do it fast? The answer still lies in remembrance. It lies in speaking to yourself the truth of the situation. What then is the truth you need to remember? The truth of the benefits in Christ are listed in Psalm 103:
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
When your strength fails and even moving your lips feels impossible, focus on His benefits. Meditate on them until they fill your heart, and speak them aloud, even if it feels mechanical at first. God longs to help us more than we can imagine. His grace is abundant, and He knows exactly how to give it.
God tells us to commit our work to Him, and He will establish our path (Proverbs 16:3). Offering sacrificial thanksgiving is the work we give to God, and it starts with whatever we have. Once we begin, He takes over, providing the grace we need to pray. The spirit of prayer descends on those who step out in praise.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to remember your benefits in my life when everything feels clouded and dull. Help me to appreciate once more the gift of my salvation which came at a great cost to you. Open my eyes and hearts to your love once more and make me an instrument of praise once again, because I know it is your will that I praise you even right now and I know that through praise the mountains in front of me shall fall. Thank you for hearing me today and I know you have answered, in Jesus name. Amen.