“Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,”
Luke 18:1
Come to Me.
All of you, weary and heavy-laden.
Yes, you.
Come to Me, your Shepherd, and I will
give you rest in quiet pastures
by streams of still waters.
Peace I give to you.
Even when you walk through
the valley of the shadow of death,
you will have no need to fear.
Because the peace I give to you is not
what the world offers you.
Do not allow your heart to be troubled or afraid.
For I, your Shepherd, am with you.
Wherever you go.
I will not leave you, nor will I forsake you.
Fill your life and heart with My presence,
through thanksgiving and praise.
Be continually thankful, blessing My name.
It is good for you to remember,
I am a good Shepherd.
I am good and merciful always.
I know you; you are Mine.
If you listen closely,
you will hear My voice, and you will know
it is Me talking to you.
Come, sit at this table
I have prepared for you.
Come and eat.
Be filled with all the good things
I have for you.
And then,
your heart will overflow with My love.
~Marcie Bridges
©6, November 2019
I traveled down the mountain toward home with a heavy heart.
The heaviness not borne of my own troubles, but of someone else. And while I have no idea what her burdens were (or may still be), I felt the overwhelming need to pray for her. And I did. All the way down that mountain.
Our relationship is not one of friendship. Perhaps one day it will be. But for now, God has grafted her into my life for a very different purpose. And I couldn’t be more grateful for this woman and how she’s helped me and my family.
So, while I don’t feel able to ask her what is going on in her personal life, I can pray for her (because, when you don’t know what to say, you can always pray. Amen?) And during this time of prayer God began to direct my thoughts to these verses:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Psalm 23, the WHOLE chapter!
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27
“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own…My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:14, 27
God’s real good at that, you know? Although the verses seemed to be for her, they comforted me as well. I knew my good, good Shepherd was speaking to me.
I pray you hear Him speaking to you, too, through these, His words. And you find rest for your soul as well.
From My Heart to Yours,
Marcie 🙂
Amen, Marcie! We can always pray.
Blessings!
It’s my own motto Martha! There’s so many situations where I truly don’t know what to say to people but I know I can always take them to our Heavenly Father and He knows how to comfort them much better than I. Blessings to you as well 🙂
Beautiful poem, Marcie. Our ladies at church are currently doing Jennifer Rothschild Bible Study on Psalm 23: The Shepherd With Me. And your poem and words here reminded me of so much of the comforting truth we are learning! Thank you!
Hi Karen! I love Jennifer Rothschild. She is so encouraging. I will have to look into that study. Thank you 🙂
You are beyond precious, my Marcie girl. This poem is powerful! Needs to be in your next book 😉 I love you.