Serving the Least of These...in His Strength

“Come to Me, all you who labor and 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”

(Matthew 11:28-30).

Some days it’s easy to declare, “God is good…all the time,” and “All the time…God is good.” Occasionally, however, there are days when we need to be reminded.

Yesterday morning I had it all figured out. We were going to place Mom in a nursing/hospice care facility by day’s end, and my exhausting and seemingly never-ending struggle to provide care for her would finally be resolved…or not. As I was picking up her most recent chest X-ray from the hospital, which would complete the list of needed items for her admittance, I got a call that there was a problem with her eligibility. The State would not pick up the tab after all, leaving us to pay $6000 a month for private care—definitely not an option.

I was devastated. By the time I got home and relieved the temporary caregiver staying with her while I ran the brief errand, I was fighting tears. As I took her to the bathroom, my frustration level was mounting. Would this never end?

In as much as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me….

A faint whisper, but a powerful promise. I relaxed…a little.

Less than an hour later I had to help Mom into the wheelchair so she could sit up for a while and lessen the danger that her lungs would fill up from lying in bed so much. I don’t know how much longer I can take this, I thought. My strength is nearly gone!

The whispering Voice returned, personalizing the words in Philippians 4:13: You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

I felt a weight begin to lift from my shoulders.

Come to Me, all you who labor and 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 (Matthew 11:28-30).

The weight was gone.

The problem/situation had not changed, but God had changed my heart with His gentle and faithful reminders. May He do the same for you today, dear fellow travelers!