Pathways Press.com

MEDITATION:

Written by Shari Rose Shepherd, a contemporary speaker and author.

I don’t know what you carry or who or what burdens you, but I do know your Daddy in heaven is lovingly waiting for you to give them to him. Even after I became a Christian, I did not know how to process the problems and pain this life brings. Somehow, I thought that following Jesus would eliminate all my pain. So, whenever I experienced emotions that did not feel good, I ignored them. I thought if I kept my feelings covered up, they would go away. I handled my heart the same way I did before I was a Christian. I put my life in fast-forward by setting more goals and filling my schedule with excessive busyness. I did this so I would not have to feel or deal with anything emotionally difficult. In theory, that sounds like it might work, but in real life it causes emotional meltdowns. At one point of my life, I had buried so much of my emotional pain that every part of my body was hurting. I had panic attacks, crying spells, loss of memory, and chronic depression. When I had no more strength or desire to run any longer, I finally found freedom and powerful peace. I learned to run to God and cry out to my Daddy in heaven.

I don’t know where your heart is at this moment, but I do know how to lead you to your Father in heaven, in whose presence healing begins and you can breathe again. Let’s do the following three things today: 1) Pray and ask God to show you the areas of your life that you are holding back from Him. 2) write a list of the heavy things you carry and you want to give your heavenly Father, and 3) be still after you do the above and allow Him to show you that He is the god of comfort and is strong enough to carry anything that concerns his chosen child… You!

PRAYER:

Written as a scripted prayer by the Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church in West Coast Singapore.

Dear God, thank You for the opportunity to run the race that is marked out for me. Every day, help me to run it with joy and gratitude. Grant me strength, discipline and focus as I run it. I know, O Lord, that it is not a sprint; rather, it is a marathon. There will be times when we run uphill and are truly exhausted, tempted sorely to give up. In those moments, Lord, help me to remember what Jesus did – He obeyed the Father, never gave up and completed the race marked out for Him. As He hung on the Cross of Calvary, He could rightly say, “It is finished.”  Lord, grant me the strength, like Jesus, to be obedient and finish my race well too. Amen.