Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Is your yoke difficult? Are your burdens heavy?

Matthew 11:28-30; Isaiah 1:5,9

“Rehearsing your troubles results in experiencing them many times, whereas you are meant to go through them only when they actually occur.  Do not multiply your suffering in this way! Instead, come to me, and relax in My Peace.”

Remember back to your elementary days, or possibly even junior high; you over hear your teacher or principle talking about something that you did.  You know that you are probably going to be in trouble over it.  All day you spend worrying about what is going to happen, how they are going to react, how you are going to respond.  The teacher/principal waits until the end of the day to say something and by that time your stomach is in knots because of all the worrying you are doing.  So the principal finally calls you into his/her office only to find out that they understand what you did and why you did but they still have to punish you somehow but it isn’t nearly as bad as you were expecting.  I’m sure all of us have had an experience like that whether it be in school, at work, or even in relationship; but Jesus doesn’t want us to live in that constant state of fear.  Jesus wants us to walk through those struggles when they happen, not over and over in our head.  Maybe there is a specific sin that you struggle with; Jesus doesn’t want you to beat yourself up all the time for times that you have failed previously.  No, Jesus wants to walk alongside you through the current times when you are struggling.  “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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.” Matthew 11:28-30 NASB.  Jesus doesn’t want us to carry around the fear, the hurt, the anxiety, the worry of things to come; Jesus wants us to take His yoke upon us, he wants us to carry His burdens which are much lighter than our own. 

Jesus never says that being a follower of Christ is going to be easy, he never says it will be without trials and tribulations, but he does say that He is with us every step of the way.  When we are facing those struggles, those trials, those valleys He says do not continue to fill your entire mind with how bad the troubles are.  When the road is long, when the days are hard that is when Jesus wants us to lean on Him even more.  When we feel like we can’t take another step, when we feel like we can’t take another failure, when we feel that nothing in this world is going right; that is when Jesus wants us to fall into His arms and to let Him carry us.  “Take My yoke upon you…..for My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30.  Love God : Love Men.

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