Tisha Murvihill’s Music and Meditations Ministry
featuring songs from the award winning CD “A Quiet Afternoon”

Sample Meditations

Music and Meditations Concerts
Featuring Songs from the CD
"A Quiet Afternoon"

Meditation on the Yoke

“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.” Mt 11:28-30

This meditation is an allegory based on the passage I just read.

Richard grew up in a Christian home but went through a long period of his life not walking with the Lord. During that time, his burden was heavy! He would trudge along uphill (always uphill it seemed) weighed down with the demands of a high-stress job and a high-stress family-life, the demands of his own ambition, the demands of dealing with a fragile ego, the demands of trying to be loving and compassionate toward others without the strength of the Holy Spirit—and the guilt of failing the people in his life time and again.

Finally, he started to hear God’s call back to him. He realized that God had a much bigger plan for his life than his own ambition could ever dream up. So, remembering his youth, he called out to Jesus and asked him for comfort. And Jesus came immediately with a cool cloth and jug of water and gave him a renewed strength for his burden. Jesus suggested new and more exciting and meaningful destinations and asked his angels to come and walk alongside Richard on his journey. And Richard was greatly comforted and reenergized as he continued up the hill, pulling his burden… But then his strength waned, and again he began struggling and losing ground. But this time Richard knew what to do! He called out to Jesus who again came immediately and walked by Richard’s side filling him with joy and laughter and a renewed strength.

As this cycle repeated itself over and over, Richard began to feel that something was missing. He began to feel that he wasn’t experiencing the fullness of the relationship that God had set out for him to have with his son Jesus. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Richard noticed another opening in the yoke. It was so close to his eyes, he hadn’t noticed it before, but it was right there next to him. So he called out to Jesus and this time asked if Jesus would join him in his beat-up old yoke and help him to carry his burden. “I thought you would never ask!” Jesus said. “But I have an even better idea,” He continued, “let’s use my yoke, for it is easy to use. And let’s take a look at what you are carrying around in your burden for there is much that you do not need to carry with you when you are walking with Me.”

And Jesus and Richard sat and looked at the things he was carrying. When Jesus saw all the sin, guilt, shame, and resentment, He immediately jettisoned it from the burden. Then He filled the burden with peace, love, joy, and compassion. When they returned to the yoke—together—Richard could hardly feel a thing! He was free of the burden that had weighed him down and driven him forward up the hill without rest for so long.

Think on these things as I play, and invite Jesus beside you in the yoke—His yoke—for He is “gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.”

April 14th, 2008

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Meditation on Forgiveness

Richard, our friend from the yoke, had a dear friend in his life named Andrew. Richard and Andrew had served together in the war. They had that special bond that military men and women often talk about, but can not explain. A bond runs deep when you entrust your very life into someone else’s care. Richard and Andrew shared experiences that no one else would understand, no one else would believe. After the war, they remained fast friends. Richard started a business that became quite successful and met a very special lady and started a life with her. Andrew for some reason could not seem to get his life on track. He began to resent Richard’s success and insidious little jealous comments started slipping out of Andrew’s mouth.

Richard was deeply hurt by these comments and told Andrew as much. A regular praying man, Richard went to the Lord and asked that God help him to forgive his friend. But the unkindness came again and as difficult as it was, Richard went to the Lord again and forgave his friend. But when the comments came again, Richard felt betrayed by Andrew and cried out to the Lord saying, “God, I thought we had dealt with this. I have prayed for Andrew. I have forgiven him. I have prayed to be a light in his life. I have prayed blessings upon his head… yet the next day I am hurt again, and again I have to come to you to help me to forgive him.”

That is when God taught Richard the lesson of continual forgiveness. He not only needed to forgive what Andrew had done to him yesterday and today, but what he would do tomorrow and next week and the week after. If Richard could do this, if he could forgive this friend in this manner, he would be able to be a better conduit for the Love of God and prompting of the Holy Spirit in this friend’s life. After teaching Richard this lesson, God gave him the grace to forgive Andrew once and for all and Richard is no longer able to be hurt by Andrew’s jealous comments.

Shortly thereafter, Richard’s church celebrated the Lord’s Supper. As he looked at the body of Christ in his hand, it dawned on him in a new way what Jesus had done for him. Richard had been brought into a state of continual forgiveness! Through Jesus, God forgave not only his sins of today and yesterday, but also the times he would falter tomorrow and the next week and the next… Richard realized that we are asked to “…forgive [one another] as the Lord forgave you,” and God forgave our sins of yesterday and tomorrow. Praise God for his Heavenly Grace.

King David writes to us in the Psalms (ch.32):

4For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” – and you forgave the guilt of my sin… 7You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance… …[For] the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds those who trust in him.

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