For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:30 NIV
Getting ready to leave the house, I was struck by how much stuff I carry with me these days. House keys, car fob, fat wallet (but not with cash), water bottle or coffee cup…and the list goes on. When I was young, I traveled so much lighter. No house key because we never locked the house. No car fob because they didn’t exist, and I didn’t have a car anyway. No wallet because I didn’t need insurance cards, credit cards, or ID. (I still didn’t have any cash, so that part hasn’t changed.) And no water bottle because we didn’t eat or drink in my parents’ car – unless we stopped at the A&W drive-in. What I needed, my parents carried for me. And I really didn’t need that much.
Now I carry with me a much heavier load. I bet you do, too. But it’s not the keys and the cards and the Caribou coffee that adds the most weight. It’s the burden of resentments, past failures, old hurts, disappointments, anxiety, and health concerns that we carry with us each day. As heavy as those burdens are, we often insist on taking them with us wherever we go. It’s exhausting. And it’s unnecessary.
Jesus tells us we don’t have to carry those burdens with us. We can lay them down at his feet. He’ll carry what we need. (And we really don’t need much of them.) The rest will be left behind where it belongs. We are free to travel light.
He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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
What burdens do you need to hand off to Jesus this week? There is no need to carry them yourself.
Have a blessed week.
Pastor Mark