How often do you feel as though you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? Work. Parenting. Marriage. Illness. Addiction. Loneliness. Fear. Finances. Maybe we don’t all carry the same baggage, but none of us walks through life burden free. And we all go through seasons in life where it feels like what we are carrying is simply too heavy to go any further.
In Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) Jesus says,
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.
But what does it actually mean to take on the yoke of Jesus?
In my moments of pure exhaustion, when the yoke I’m carrying feels too heavy, when I’m crying out to God that I can’t take another step, He paints this picture in my mind….
I see myself walking down a road, my back hunched over under the weight of so many heavy packs strapped to my back. In exhaustion I stumble forward and there before me is the throne of God. He invites me to take off all the packs that I’ve put on along my journey. The packs of life. A never-ending to-do list. Comparison. Loneliness. Financial pressure. Materialism. Parenting struggles. Conflict in relationships. Unhealed hurt. Fear. Some packs I didn’t even realize I was carrying. Some I’ve had for as long as I can remember.
I didn’t even realize I was picking up those packs throughout my journey, but along the way, I kept adding to them little by little. Like little souvenirs I collect as I travel through life. Some are bigger and heavier than others. Some only have a trinket or two. But with each addition, no matter how small and seemingly trivial, my load gets heavier and heaver until the weight of them all feels crushing.
Without saying a word, God looks down upon me, eyes full of compassion, and He invites me to take off the packs and lay them down at His feet. He beckons me, now free from my burdens, to rest in His presence. So I do. I release everything that has been weighing me down and I fall at His feet. Finally, free from every burden, I rest.
After I have rested, and I’m ready to head back out on my journey, He sends me on my way. Except when I go to grab my packs, I notice that there are fewer of them. And they’re lighter than they were before. In fact, these aren’t the same packs I arrived with at all. Instead of shame, I have acceptance. Instead of worry, I have peace. Where insecurities once sat, now sits assurance. Instead of sending me on my way with things that will only hinder me and slow me down, He has given me things that will aid me along the way.
God doesn’t want us to carry the burdens of this world alone. In fact, oftentimes the burdens we sludge through life with He has instructed us to not carry in the first place.
Matthew 6:25-27 (NIV) says,
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
God invites us to take the burdens of this world and lay them down at His feet. He is saying, “Let me worry about the things of the world that consume you and distract you from what really matters. Focus on Me. Spend your energy on Me. Pursue ME. If you are to carry anything through life, carry that which is holy. That which allows you to fulfill the purpose I have for you on this earth. What you are trying to carry isn’t yours to carry, and that is why it feels too heavy. Lay down your burdens and let me give you something better.”
I invite you today to quiet your heart and lay your burdens at the feet of Him who holds the world in His hands. Like a child trusts his parents to provide for his every need, trust in your Heavenly Father to provide for yours.
His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
