07/16/2022
Unnecessary Burdens
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
My daughter Katie’s backpack weighs almost as much as she does. If I had to carry that thing around all day, I’m sure I would end up in the hospital. It makes me long for the day when the digital revolution will finally overtake textbooks, enabling children to transport them on a lightweight electronic device.
Katie’s two-ton backpack reminds me of what it feels like to carry burdens that are not my own. Instead of an aching back, they produce an aching heart, robbing me of the peace God has promised. It wasn’t long ago that worrying about a situation I can’t even remember kept me up most of the night. Then I ran across this quote from Mary Crowley, a single mother, who rose to prominence as the head of a multimillion-dollar company: “Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He’s going to be up all night anyway.”
Crowley’s words remind me of the wisdom of novelist George MacDonald, who once remarked that “no man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear.” Where did MacDonald’s wisdom come from? Most likely from the lips of the Lord himself, who told his disciples, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matthew 6:34).
We can’t off-load our worries onto some kind of digital device. But we have something far better—a promise from Christ that his yoke is easy to bear and that the burden he gives is light.
Lord, help me not to get weighed down by burdens that I shouldn’t be carrying alone. When I begin to do that, remind me that your burden is light and that you have promised to provide rest to those who are weary.
This is an excerpt from: Becoming a Woman at Peace
