Heavy Laden

Does life ever seem to weigh you down? Sometimes our burdens can feel so heavy they seem impossible to bear. But we don’t have to let the heaviness of life’s burdens press us into the dust. In the midst of the weariness of our burden-worn lives, Jesus calls to us:

“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  (Matthew 11:28)

Heavy laden as we are, Jesus offers us rest. How exactly does this work? Look at the next verse:

“Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (vv. 29-30)

What is it to take Christ’s yoke upon us? It is simply to lay our own burdens down at His feet, accepting the circumstances of life as His will for our lives, trusting that He knows what He is doing. It takes humility and meekness to bear the yoke of Christ, but when we do, He gives us rest.

When we insist on carrying the heaviness of our own cares, worries, trials, and distresses, we miss out on the peace and rest God promises those who let Him carry their burdens. As 1 Peter 5:7 says, we should live instead

“Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.”

You see, God loves you. He will give you no burden which He is not both ready and willing to bear with you under His yoke. That is why Christ tells us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

When we yoke up with Christ, we are pulling in concert with Omnipotence. His strength does the heavy lifting, while His mercy and grace allow us to enjoy the rest and peace of bearing only that part which His love and goodness choose to put upon us.

If you know me well or have followed this blog for any length of time, you probably already know that I often struggle with worry. When I surrender my worries, fears, and problems to God, I am getting under His yoke.

Instead of bearing the weight of possibilities of things beyond my control, I let Him take it all, and I can rest under the far lighter pressure of the realities which God has chosen for me to carry with His help.

The question is, will we exchange His burden for our own? Will we choose to relinquish our hold on the heavy things of life and submit to the lightness of His burden?

“For our light affliction, which is for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:17-18