Life presents us with many heavy burdens. Some experience immense pain and suffering in this life, some experience momentary strife. We all have felt or will feel heaviness at some point. That feeling when life is just too much and it weighs you down.
God does not shy away from telling us the reality of this world. We will face tribulation. Life gets difficult. He never tells us that our lives in this world will be easy or trouble-free. He warns us of its difficulty. But he also tells us of a solution. He offers a promise in Jesus.
“Come to me, all 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.” Matthew 11:28-30
In Jesus, we find the only way to know God and receive rest from our heavy burdens. But the solution Jesus offers as a way to be burden free seems counteractive. To receive rest we are to take on the yoke of Christ. A yoke is a piece of wood placed on two animals that were used to plow or pull a heavy object. Jesus is telling us that in order to be burden free we are to take on another burden, his. It seems strange that in order to be free from something Jesus wants us to carry another burden. But the key is in his next statement in Matt. 11:30- “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Some of the burdens we face in life are out of our control. Some are the kind we place on ourselves. Whatever the case, Jesus offers a new way to bear the heaviness of life. He tells us to take his yoke upon ourselves. His yoke is light because he has taken on the ultimate burden. In reality, we are taking on a yoke that he is solely carrying. He has taken on the heaviness of life. He has taken on sin, shame, pain, and suffering for our sake. We are anchored down by the cross. Hebrews tells us that the hope and promise of God is an anchor for our soul. It weighs us down in a way that the world does not. It sets us free in a beautiful paradox. Jesus sets us free and relieves our burden by placing on us a new one that he has already taken. He replaces heavy burden with heavy hope. We are able to receive rest, an easy yoke, and a light burden when we are able to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ and allow it to anchor our souls.
“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 6:19-20
Pacific Daughter 
God is always with us, especially during the difficult times. I remember I was going through a tough time in my life and I Jesus appeared to me in a very vivid dream. I was out for a walk with Jesus and the twelve apostles. All of a sudden we came to a very busy highway. The cars just kept coming and I was terrified. I said, “Lord I can not cross,” and I began to cry. I kept on repeating that I just couldn’t do it and the Lord picked me up and carried me.
I love your post and your blog.
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Thanks Cascia! I’m glad you enjoyed the post and thanks for the invite!
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This is such a good reminder in any season of a believer’s walk that we need to give our burdens to God. Each season looks different and sometimes we just try to handle it ourselves when God actually wants to take all the weight. If you are ever looking to guest post, please visit us: https://dailyps.com/write-for-dailyps/ – No pressure, I just really enjoyed this post along with your other posts.
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