Matthew 11:28-29
“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.”
I will never forget the night I almost lost it all. I barely made it to the bathroom before I was completely frozen with fear. It was about 3am and my heart was racing faster than an indy car in the 500. Sweat rolling off my body; I thought to myself, this is it. It’s over. In nothing more than my boxers I turned to the mirror and couldn’t even recognize my own face. Fear had gripped me like your worse nightmare; only this wasn’t a nightmare. This was real; this was happening and happening now! Slowly I turned from the mirror and turned my attention to the bathtub, lucky for me it wasn’t far from where I stood. Wobbling a bit, I fell to my knees quickly hunching over the tub, and began to vomit. Almost immediately I began to cry out to God.
“God if you’re there, if there’s a chance, will you please save my life? I know I’m not worthy of you, but if you save me today, you can have my life forever!”
Tears filling my eyes, I knew in that moment it was up to God and I really had no choice in the matter. I should have died of a cocaine overdose that evening but instead Christ chose to save me. The amazing thing is, He didn’t only save my physical life but He also saved my spiritually life as well. Physically, I’m now able to share my story and the good news of Jesus Christ with all of you today. Spiritually, Christ took the heavy burdens I’ve been hauling around for decades and he placed them upon himself. I will never be able to repay Him for this. For this was the first time in many years I was truly free. While I’m much older now, that experience, lives in me forever. When my life get’s hectic and I try and rely on my own power, I know that I can go back to that everlasting moment, that moment on my knees where God reintroduced himself to me. C.S. Lewis once said “pain was a megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” I didn’t believe that in my youth but I do now. I know who Jesus Christ is; he’s in the good times, as well as the hard times. He is ever-present and ever-lasting and he wants you to rest in him. He want’s you to fully rest in the perfect presence of Abba, our Daddy.
