09/07/2026
This week's Monday Words of Wisdom comes from Youth Pastor/Upward Director Kaidan Harmon.
Matthew 11:28 - Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
It is easy for us to try to carry everything on our own. We often feel like we have to be strong, have all the answers, and figure everything out by ourselves. Sometimes we may even think that asking for help means we are weak. But Jesus gives us a different invitation. He tells us to come to Him.
Jesus already knows the burdens we are carrying. He knows the things that make us tired, the things that worry us, and the things that we may not feel comfortable sharing with anyone else. Yet, He still invites us to come to Him. We don't have to clean everything up or have everything figured out before we come to Jesus. We can come exactly as we are.
Sometimes we look for rest in all the wrong places. We may try to distract ourselves from what we are going through or believe that if we just keep busy, the burden will eventually go away. But true rest comes when we place our trust in Jesus. He may not always remove the situation we are facing, but He promises to be with us in the middle of it and give us the strength and peace we need to keep going.
This verse also challenges us to look at what we are holding onto. Are there worries we have been trying to control? Are there situations we keep replaying in our minds? Are there things from the past that we haven't fully surrendered to God? Jesus is reminding us that we don't have to carry those things alone.
Application means actually putting this verse into practice. When we feel overwhelmed, we can stop and pray instead of allowing worry to take over. When we don't know what to do, we can seek God's direction instead of relying only on our own understanding. When we feel tired and discouraged, we can remind ourselves of Jesus' promise that He will give us rest.
We also need to remember that coming to Jesus isn't something we only do when life is difficult. We should make it part of our everyday lives. We come to Him in the good seasons, the difficult seasons, when we have answers, and when we have questions. The more we learn to depend on Him each day, the more we understand that He truly is our source of strength.
My prayer for us is that we would stop carrying things that Jesus is asking us to give to Him. Whatever you may be facing today, bring it to Jesus. Trust Him with it. You may not know how everything will work out, but you can know that you don't have to walk through it alone.
