Meeting the Burden Bearer

Meet the Burden Bearer

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”, says the Lord (Matthew 11:28 NIV).

Jesus’ invitation of rest is to those who labor and are burdened. The context for this invitation are the sin burdened Israelites of Jesus’ day. However, this promise goes further than our own sin and failures (which can be a perpetual burden on our minds and hearts) as we remember our mistakes and failures.

In Real Estate, my wife and I learned a catchy personal slogan about learning from past mistakes. We call it, “Burn and learn.” This slogan is derived from learning from our mistakes after the painful experience of facing negative consequences to a decision or mistake we have made. But there is also the burden of personal failure in managing our sin. This involves laboring to do more for God, or to earn favor with God, which ultimately results in burn out.

Jesus says, come to me all of you who are burned out on religion and I will give you rest. This is a rest that is given because of grace, not because we earned it. It is a place of being at peace in Christ that results in being at peace even in the midst of our failures and mistakes. It is being able to say, “It is well with my soul” even in the midst of losing a job, failure in parenting, or struggling in our marriage. Remember, Jesus Christ himself is our rest from the burden of sin in this world.

Ask yourself, “Am I burned out on trying to be good enough, do enough, or live right?” If so, then take a break and enter into His rest. He won’t give you any yoke that is ill-fitting. His yoke is perfectly fitted for you, it easy and it is light for one reason; He is in it WITH you!

Christ has already carried the burden of sin and death for the whole world. He carried our sin and death to the cross and was crushed so that we wouldn’t have to carry the weight of sin and death ourselves. Christ has carried the burden of sin and death and forever promises to disciple us into a greater place of rest. This is without the burden of sin. He not only lifts our burdens, but He makes life lighter and easier.

Meet the burden bearer today and receive His rest.

Prayer

Father, I confess my sin of laboring and being burdened by my own sin and the sin of others. It has been unbearable and oppressive. I repent for laboring and burdening myself with this. I thank you for taking this burden on the cross and dying for me so that I can experience your rest.

I receive your rest today. I choose to take your yoke of freedom and discipleship, so that I can become like you in every way. Thank you for being my burden bearer so that I can experience divine rest. I am blessed. I forsake all burdens (real and perceived) off me, and renounce all false guilt and shame. I declare that I am yoked with Jesus Christ and that I will move forward out of a place of rest and peace in Him and will not strive within my own strength.

In Jesus Name,

Amen