Maybe it is because I’m tired today. Or maybe it is because yesterday was a crazy one at work. Or maybe it is because life is just overwhelming sometimes. All I know is that this morning I was overtaken by a song that I really listened to for the first time. And I know it wasn’t written in the way I heard it, but what I heard was my Lord singing these words to me:
Listen to it here.
Fall Into Me
When the weight of the world bears down so strong you leave footprints on the street
And there’s too many miles to face without a few more hours sleep
The storm clouds overhead won’t shed any rain to quench your thirst
I wanna be the one you reach for first
When your faith is stretched so thin that you can see straight through your soul
And you can’t find a nickel to buy a smile ‘cause your pockets all got holes
You wanna shut the door and hide before the day can get much worse
I wanna be the one you reach for first
Chorus:
Fall into me
My arms are open wide
And you don’t have to say a word
‘Cause I already see
That it’s hard and you’re scared
And you’re tired and it hurts
And I wanna be the one you reach for first
I wanna be the bottle you’ve been drinking with your eyes
Or the road you run away on you’ve been running all your life
The third row pew that you last knew as a child in church
I wanna be the one you reach for first
Repeat Chorus
Before you turn the key
Before you fall asleep
Before you drift away to fight those demons waiting for you in your dreams
Before your arms are stretched wide open
Before you reach into the sky
Before you’re searching for direction and all the answers to your why’s
Fall into me
Oh, my arms are stretched wide open
You don’t have to say a word
Because I already see
That it’s hard and you’re scared
And you’re tired and I know it hurts
Yes, it’s hard and you’re scared
And you’re tired and it hurts
And I wanna be the one you reach for first
© 2008 Jennifer Nettles
As I heard these words, I just felt like I was being held in the arms of this loving God who wants to be the one we go to when life is hard, when we are scared, when we are hurting, when we are overwhelmed. Isn’t this exactly what he said to us in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”? And yet, we don’t run to Him first. All of us have that person, that attitude, that habit, or something that we run to in those times of trial. Maybe not always; maybe sometimes we remember that our Father is waiting for us, but the truth of the matter is that we still don’t always reach for Him first.
I know that I am so guilty of that sometimes. When the day has been truly hard or stressful I may run to my TV for a little “veg” time, or grab my book for some “escape” time, or pick up the phone or plop down next to Mike for some “vent” time. But this isn’t the best I could do. Perhaps if I/we were reaching for comfort in the arms of our Father, we wouldn’t be so quick to look for escape, or we wouldn’t allow ourselves to get so worked up that we feel like we have to vent.
So here’s my challenge (and yours) for today. Let’s take Jesus at His word and come to Him when we are weary and burdened. Let’s accept His yoke and His rest. Let’s reach for Him first.