Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11: 28-30

Do you have that “go to person” that you talk to when you feel you have a problem for which you can’t find an answer?  For most of my problems, I try to solve them myself as I don’t want to burden others as I know they have their own concerns. I guess I would have to say, when I have a challenge that is bothering me and I do ask for help, it depends on the problem I have. I go to different people based on the type of dilemma as different people can help with different issues depending on their own knowledge or experiences.

Sometimes you might be disappointed in their responses or maybe they agreed with you when you needed more than that. Maybe they made you feel your problem was insignificant or they did not respond at all. This leaves you where you started with no help or solution to the issue.

It is obvious when we read this text from Matthew, we should probably skip the middle man (friends, family, therapists, etc.) and go right to the source of the one who tells us to come to Him with our burdens.  He assures us He will take them on and carry them for us.  He will teach us through his humble and gentle heart and we will find rest. This is Jesus’s promise to us and has he ever not followed through with His promise?

Why do we not do this and give ourselves over to the Lord.  I know in my case, I’m a self-diagnosed “control freak” (and I’m sure others would agree with my diagnosis) and I think I should be able to take care of myself (and probably everybody else too.)  I am working on this and it is a hard-fought battle, but it is good to be reminded of this assurance. We don’t need to worry about being disappointed because we have the ultimate “go to person” when we ask God for help. His unconditional love for us through the birth and death of His Son Jesus Christ takes our sins and burdens and they are placed upon His shoulders and we are free of them.  Our burden is lifted and we can rest.  Thanks be to God for this great reward!

Patty