Is there something in your life that weighs you down and takes much of the joy out of your life? Maybe it is a chronic physical problem. Maybe it is the consequences of something you did earlier in your life. Maybe it is a difficult relationship you deal with. Maybe it is the prejudices or persecutions you bear. Maybe it is a loss of a loved one who you miss very much. Maybe it is debt or poverty or financial difficulties. Maybe it is guilt for sin in your life. Maybe it is the bad actions of others close to you. Many things can become a burden that you carry in your life. What are your burdens?
Jesus gives us an invitation for relief of our burdens. Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Perhaps the greatest burden we can bear is the guilt and fear for the eternal consequences of our sins. Jesus can take our sins and cast them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19) and relieve us of that burden. But our burdens may be other things in our lives. Even these can be lighter when we become a true follower of Jesus. He is gentle and lowly in heart, meaning that He is easy to approach and to help us find rest for our souls. He wants us to give our burdens to Him. He does have a yoke and a burden for us, but His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
I like the comfort given in 1 Peter 5:6-7 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” God wants you to humble yourself before Him and cast your cares of life upon Him. He cares for you. The God of the universe cares about the burdens you have in your life. He wants you to trust Him and give Him your cares. He may provide a solution for your burdens or He may give you the strength to bear your burdens.
He doesn’t always take our burdens away. The apostle Paul was caught up to heaven and heard and saw things he could not reveal. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul had a burden he called “a thorn in the flesh”. He took his burden to the Lord three times but the Lord did not remove the burden. The Lord said: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Paul needed to learn the lesson of trusting in the Lord and receiving the strength that only comes through Him. You and I need to learn the same lesson, especially when the Lord does not take away our burdens.
God is the God of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” God knows what you are going through. He wants to comfort you in the midst of your tribulations. Cast your care upon Him.
Before David was king, he and his men were away for their home at Ziklag. While they were away, the Amalekites invaded, burned Ziklag, and took captive the families of David and his men. 1 Samuel 30:6 “Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” The men blamed David. He had burdens – the lives of the families of the men, the animosity of his men and the potential of them killing him. He took those burdens to the Lord, who strengthen him. He was then able to go after the Amalekites, defeat them, and recover the families and much of the plunder. You may not always be able to correct the burdens that you have in your life, but you can still strengthen yourself in the Lord. David wrote about the Lord in Psalm 62:6-8 “He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.” Pour out your heart to God and tell Him your burdens. Let Him be your strength and your refuge.
Our burdens cause us to want something better. 2 Corinthians 5:1-4 “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.” Both of my parents are gone. In their later years they suffered much from failing health; when they passed on, I felt that they had gone to a better place where they have no burdens. Why should I want to keep them here when it is better for them there? We should all seek our eternal home with the Father.
I don’t know what burdens you carry, but I encourage you to cast your burdens on the Lord. He cares for you.