“How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”
Matthew 23:37b
Jesus wept over Jerusalem, over His people who resisted Him and kept running the other way like a willful child does. He expressed longing to draw them near, to comfort them. He freely offered His love to any who would receive Him (see John 1:12). He had come to save them even though they had killed the prophets and stoned those sent to them.
There are times when a child becomes so out of sorts that reasoning with him or her is impossible. I remember this when our children were little and they just needed to be put down for a nap! We adults can have our “meltdowns” too. We refuse to recognize our limitations, taking on too much. We scramble to control our lives, as if we were God and He is not. We resist the comfort He offers.
Often when I have been beyond exhaustion, the Lord has taken me by the hand, so to speak, making me lie down. It’s what I need, and it is for my own good. I feel Him conquering my resistance with His strong arms of love, nurturing me under His wings like a chick with the mother hen. And I lie down in quietness.
There are times when a child becomes so out of sorts that reasoning with him or her is impossible. I remember this when our children were little and they just needed to be put down for a nap! We adults can have our “meltdowns” too. We refuse to recognize our limitations, taking on too much. We scramble to control our lives, as if we were God and He is not. We resist the comfort He offers.
Often when I have been beyond exhaustion, the Lord has taken me by the hand, so to speak, making me lie down. It’s what I need, and it is for my own good. I feel Him conquering my resistance with His strong arms of love, nurturing me under His wings like a chick with the mother hen. And I lie down in quietness.
Scripture Focus
Matthew 23:37-39
Insight
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
Bible In A Year
- Genesis 12-13
- Psalm 6
- Matthew 10-11
