Leslie Wittenmyer
October 5, 2024
Matthew 11:28, New Living Translation
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burns, and I will give you rest.”
Heart can become heavy or even broken. The pains and disappointments in life can be, at times, overwhelming. They can leave you in a well of regret and sorrow. This is not where our Lord wants us to dwell.
At any time, we can come to our Lord, for him, Jesus! He leaves an open invitation to us. “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, NLT) We all carry things that our Lord and Savior never meant for us to carry. we must be willing to let it go… To give it to Him… To surrender. He will teach us his ways, how to let go, why to let go, when to let go.
The scripture continues to say, “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29, NLT) Jesus wants to teach us how to handle our circumstances, how to handle our disappointments and pain.
What has caused the heaviness inside of you? Proverbs 10:28, NLT says, “The hopes of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing.” What is the hope of the godly? The hope of the godly is the confident assurance of the things we cannot see. The things we cannot see, but we know, if we believe, and have faith; salvation, forgiveness, the love of our Savior, the Holy Spirit, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, and joy that’s everlasting.
All of these things are ours if we hold tight to it. Or we can allow the enemy who roams like a roaring lion to devour us. He leads us to a place where self is on the throne. That’s thrown rightfully belongs to Jesus Christ. When we are on the throne of self, it’s hard to see past all the pain and heartache. But if we are able to throne ourselves and keep Christ and throne, he will show us a better way. Isaiah 53:5, NLT says, “But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.”
Christ died so we could be free from our sins and so we could live life to the full.
I believe it’s important to stay in the word of God so that Jesus can speak to us, so He can teach us, by His Spirit, how to carry His burden that is light.
Take time before Him. What is weighing you down? Take time to listen. He wants to teach you; He wants to guide you. Maybe He has a scripture just for you and the season that you are i. Maybe He wants to lead you to forgive, or to tell you that you are forgiven. Maybe He wants to show you something you need to let go of. Whatever it may be, let Him do what He desires to do for you. Take yourself off the throne, and keep Christ on the throne.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT)