I love biking and walking the paths we have in abundance here in Minnesota.
While I prefer the 5 months of the year when we get beauty and color and warmth, (and have been begging the trees to hold onto their leaves recently), I’ll go out in almost any weather conditions.
As I walk or ride around our lakes, I notice that there are always stretches that are my favorite – the lush, wooded shady parts.
But there are also barren stretches that I’d really rather skip. Very much like the seasons of my life I’d rather fast-forward through. Thistly and ugly.
The other day I was riding my bike and there was such a stiff headwind that it was really difficult to move forward. Struggling against brisk gales, I rode along a stretch where I had never been before. A dead and ugly stretch.
But then I noticed something odd and seemingly out of place in the dull brown grasses. It was a bench with “Come to me and I will give you rest” etched on it.
Next to it, someone had left a pair of sneakers. Perhaps a reminder that this was holy ground – a hard place where we remove our shoes in God’s presence and receive from Him what we need.
It made me think about all the times God says, “I will give…”
I will give you a new heart. (Ezekiel 36:26)
I will give you hidden treasures. (Isaiah 45:3)
I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
I will give you a new name. (Revelation 2:17)
I will give you an Advocate. (John 14:16-17)
I will give you words and wisdom. (Luke 21:15, James 1:5)
I will give you abundant life. (John 10:10)
I will give you the bread of life, eternal life. (John 6:51, John 10:28)
I will give you insight. (2 Timothy 2:7)
I will give you good gifts. (Matthew 7:11)
Are you in a thistle-y or barren place? How would you finish this sentence? Lord, what I need most from You today is __________________.
