Our Tattered Pages
God meets us where we are, not where we pretend to be. Bring your exhaustion and your unvarnished prayers to His feet; He is your refuge. A.W. Tozer
I love visiting museums. The paintings, sculptures, artefacts, relics and other pieces of art are from another time and place and are often completely foreign to us. Each museum piece tells a story. But what I find fascinating are the old manuscripts and books, especially diaries. Their pages are often faded and tattered - weathered by time and seasons. The tattered pages hold unique words that reveal the essence of the soul of the person who penned them. These fragile books and manuscripts have untold value and are handled with gloves to protect the pages from decay. From falling apart completely.
We can sometimes feel as if our lives are like the pages of these old books. Our souls, our hearts feel tattered, tired and worn out. We feel battle-weary from constantly having to elbow our way through life. It feels as if we are in a constant state of doing, and when we finally take a load off, our minds are mulling over, planning, and worrying. Rest seems like just a dream. Jesus sees our tired, weary, battered souls, and He invites us to come to Him. He says in Matthew 11:28 says,
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Protector of Our Fragile Hearts
When I read this scripture, I see an image of Jesus with His outstretched hand, lovingly saying, “Come. Come as you are. I see your value. I see your worth. I will take you to my quiet waters. I will refresh you. I will restore the tattered pages of your soul.” (Psalm 23:2-3). When we take hold of His hand, He will lead us along His righteous paths. The path that will position us to lay our burdens down. To receive His grace that is sufficient, and His strength that is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). When we take hold of His outstretched hand, we can dwell in His secret place and rest under His hand of protection (Psalm 91:1-2). He will be our refuge, our safe haven, protecting our fragile hearts from falling apart.
Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16 (NKJV)
Reflection
Are you feeling tired and battle weary? I would like to invite you to take time to come to Jesus. To take time to abide in His secret place so that you can find His grace and strength. His rest and protection for your soul.
Prayer
Lord, You see my tired and battle-weary soul. Thank You for inviting me to come to You and lay my burdens down. Help me to take hold of Your outstretched hand. Help me to dwell in Your secret place so that I can receive Your rest for my weary soul. In Jesus’ name, amen.
