Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

“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

How often do we feel weary? Burdened? In need of rest?

Sometimes we are carrying a larger load than we imagine. Maybe we do have some restless nights with our minds racing thinking about all the things we need to do, what we didn’t get done that day, what we wish we could undo.

Jesus invited his followers that were maybe a little like us to bring their burdens to Him. To relieve themselves of the weight they are carrying. To unload those overwhelming thoughts. To give their troubles over to Him and let Him carry that weight for them. It is an invitation that is extended to us as well. Maybe it’s that family member who is suffering. Maybe it’s the stress we feel during the workday. Maybe it’s the financial struggles we are facing. It is probably all of the above and many more things I would imagine.

Jesus invited his followers to take rest in Him. Maybe physical rest, mental rest or emotional rest, or all of the above. An invitation that we have extended to us as well. I picture rest as having peace of mind. Rest as “now I can breathe.” He offers rest to all who need it. I picture those weights being handed over to Christ and then a huge sigh of relief coming over them knowing that their cares, worries and troubles are now in His hands.

He invited His followers to take on His yoke. An invitation to share in His work, His ministry and learn from Him how He handles stress. Learn from Him not just the teachings and lessons that we find in the scriptures, but also learn from Christ’s attitude, His balance in life, how He handles the struggles, difficulties and challenges He faces.

When we yoke ourselves with Christ, we are not just becoming partners in His work, but we are gaining a partner to share in our lives, our issues, our problems. The two go hand in hand. As we draw closer and nearer to Christ we are not “following” behind Him, we are walking beside him. He is guiding our steps and as a piece of our partnership all we have becomes lighter as it rests not just on our shoulders, but on the shoulders of Christ.

Never forget that you can have a partnership with Christ. It’s easy to say the prayers sometimes and say we are “giving it to the Lord.” It’s harder to let go of it and let him have it. He wants our all. Every problem, every issue and every effort. That’s His invitation.

REV. BARRY VASSAR is pastor at Fitzgerald Memorial Baptist. He can be reached at fitzgeraldmemorial@gmail. com.