heavy burdens

i was reminded once again last night of the call that Jesus has given us...

matthew 11

28(AP) Come to(AQ) me, all who labor and are(AR) heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and(AS) learn from me, for I am(AT) gentle and lowly in heart, and(AU) you will find rest for your souls. 30For(AV) my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Jesus call us to take His yoke upon ourselves...one that is easy and light...one where we will find rest. is your burden easy and light, or have you stopped moving by the weight of what you carry. my physical posture becomes one a lying down on a couch and watching tv when i am carrying heaven burdens--those are not God's burdens. if burdens are weighing you down--reflect on whether these burdens are from God or not. chances are they are not from Him.

while i know that paul had a thorn in the flesh and Christ clearly seemed burdened prior to going to the cross, this does not mean that we must carry heavy burdens. let us remember that Christ died on the cross for the joy that was set before him (hebrews 12:2). future joy can remove a feeling of burdening. also, we must recognize that there was a choice involved when following God's burden. Christ was not roped into going to the cross. it was a clear choice of His will--as He said "not my will, but yours be done" (luke 22:42). Christ chose to surrender. One other observation I'd like to make is that Godly burdens don't stop us from acting--they do the opposite--they call us to action. is your burden slowing you down? it's probably not from God. the Holy Spirit calls us to action. not simply dwelling or wallowing in guilt.

as for paul, his burden, the "messenger of satan" was allowed by the Lord for a clear purpose that he was able to recognize. once again, this burden did not stop paul from ministry, rather it brought him into closer intimacy w/ Christ. he was also able to more clearly recognize that God is the one at work--even in our weakness and that God's grace is sufficient.

also, as I've read books like Jesusfreaks, it has been clear that many people have suffered in many ways for the sake of christ. after all, christ himself has told us that we must pick up our cross and follow him (matthew 10:38, 16:24; mark 8:34; luke 9:23, 14:27). the burden of the cross though, becomes light as we follow Christ. after all, the joy of the Lord is your strength (nehemiah 8:10) and you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (philippians 4:13).

so do you a have a burden today? are you carrying a load? test and see if it is from the Lord. if it is not from Him, lay it down before the Lord. reject it in the name of Jesus. His yoke is easy, His burden is light. trust in Him.