“Let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your souls…”—Matthew 11:29 (TLB)
I was tootling full-throttle along the 5 Freeway, commonly known as the Grapevine, en route from Pasadena to Bakersfield, California, when the grade suddenly became scarily steep. Hurtling downhill while trying to negotiate the curves had me on the verge of panic. It was difficult to slow down, and I wondered what on earth I would do in the event my brakes failed.
Enormous trucks were hogging the right lanes, their drivers trying to control their heavy rigs. Then I saw a sign: RUNAWAY TRUCK RAMP, 1/4 MILE. Sure enough, going off the freeway was a long exit ramp that tilted up toward nowhere. Hmm, so that’s how they handle it, I thought.
The fact was, I needed a runaway ramp, not for the car, but for me. Lately my life had been getting more and more out of control. There was no way I could put the brakes on speaking commitments, deadlines, correspondence and household chores. Emotionally, I was frazzled, short-tempered and impatient. Spiritually, I was rushing through devotions hurriedly read but not meditated upon, and my prayers were sent heavenward on the run.
Late that evening, as I searched the Scriptures, I found these words of Jesus: “Let me teach you; for I am gentle and humble, and you shall find rest for your souls.” I desperately needed that rest. I’d been reading the Psalms and the letters of Paul, but it had been a long time since I had opened my Bible to the Gospels, where the words of Jesus were highlighted in red.
I decided that the words of Jesus would be my spiritual runaway ramp, a place to begin prayerfully putting on the brakes and sorting out all the other out-of-control aspects of my daily life. I would let Christ teach me, and I would listen carefully to His voice.
Lord, it’s so easy for me to go spiritually out of control in all the busyness of my life. Today and every day, quiet my heart with Your peace.
