come.

"wherever Jesus comes He establishes rest."
-my utmost for His highest, august 20

i spend a lot of my energy wrestling with anxiety, with doubt, with fear. Jesus calls out to me, "come to me, laura elizabeth, you are wearied, i will give you rest... in me, you will find rest for your soul." (matthew 11:28-30) Jesus doesn't tell me that He can give me rest but that He will.

i ask why, Lord? what's going on? why do i feel i'm at this life thing alone sometimes? i beg for answers, like thomas, "Lord, i don't know where You're going, how will i know the way?" (john 14:5) i don't feel i know the way at all, and i cry out in my confusion. Jesus answers me, "peace i leave you, laura; i am giving you my peace, not the peace the world tries to give you. do not let your heart be troubled; do not be afraid, laura." (john 14:27) Jesus tells me to not be afraid. He commands me, "be strong, laura, have courage. do not be shaken, do not be dejected. i am with you wherever you go, laura." (joshua 1:9) Jesus has not left me homeless, He has given me a home in Him. i am not alone.

i use a lot of my heart and my thoughts trying to figure things out, trying to create my perfect plan, my perfect next step, my perfect life. and the pressure i place on myself is too much, trying and trying to do it myself, never stopping to listen. Jesus says to me, "laura, laura, you are worried and bothered by so many things... stop, sit at my feet, listen to me. then you will know what can never be taken, then you will know what will last." (luke 10:38-42) Jesus asks me to listen to His word; the rest will be taken care of. He says to me, "laura, cast your anxiety on me. i care for you." (1 peter 5:7)

i often walk in fear that i will do something wrong, that i have made the wrong choice, that i have screwed things up, that i have failed again. but God encourages me, "laura, i am not giving you the spirit of fear. i am giving you this kind of spirit: my power, my love, my discipline." (2 timothy 1:7) He says, use these things, walk in this way, not in the way of your old life but in the way of your overflowing life in Me. and as for your failures, do you think i am not enough to cover them? Jesus tells me, "laura, i bore your sins in my body on the cross, so that you might die to your sin and live to righteousness, for by my wounds, you are healed." (1 peter 2:24) do you hear me, laura? Jesus Christ died to heal me. "i have showed my deep love for you: though you were a sinner, i died for you." (romans 5:8) God has not left me without a Redeemer: His name is Jesus.

Jesus says, "laura, do not be afraid. i have redeemed you. i am calling you by your name. you belong to me." (isaiah 43:1) don't you know that your name means victory? what have you to fear?

laura, when you know my unquenchable love for You, when you know you are healed and redeemed and clean before me, you will know my unfathomable peace, you will experience my rest, you will be able to sit still. you will not longer live in a constant state of anxiety and fear if you know the "breadth and length and height depth of my love which surpasses knowledge." (ephesians 3:18-19) you will have all the strength and courage and power and love and discipline that you need. i have already given them to you, laura. when you rest secure in my love for you, you will see them play out in your life. you will see that you have everything that you need in me, that in me all things hold together. you will find rest for your soul. cease your striving, laura. come to Me that you might know Me.

---

laura elizabeth,
come, walk toward me.
make my grace your home,
make my goodness your shelter,
make my love the place you dwell always.
by my wounds, you are healed.
love, Jesus