Lay Your Burdens Down
I have been going through some really taxing and stressful times lately. Even the small things in life have been harboring silent animosity and aggression towards me. Guess I’m getting a bit paranoid! This last week has been a test of my patience, my joy, my peace and ultimately my faith. How did I do with these trials, tribulations and tests of life you may ask?
I didn’t pass with flying colors.
I consider myself a fairly mature Christian, long past the hand holding stage when you first believe. With decades of growth and a deepening of my faith and understanding of God’s principles, I thought I had a pretty good handle on life. Now I understand more clearly the unction Christ gave about not tempting the Lord God.
He meant it.
Not that I was doing so directly, rather my responses were less than godly and the faith I expressed had been less than effective — my fault not His! In all this my heart has been crying out to God with that universal primal scream of “why?” — that we so often revert to when coherent thought fails us. When He can no longer reach us with understanding (because our carnal man is in the way) and we stand lost and totally out of control. Then it dawned on me.
God had me where He wanted me.
He had a lesson for me to learn that would bring me peace and a deeper understanding of how to be free from the chaos and insanity of this sinful world. But first, I had to be broken enough (or rejoicing and praising enough through the testing of my faith) to get my attention about this clearer and cleaner path to travel. I needed to understand the difference between a ‘burden’ and a ‘cross’. One we give to the Lord, and the other one? Well we ourselves must carry it, afterall it is called a cross for a reason, it is where the carnal man is sacrificed, so the Children of God that we really are, can emerge.
So what is the difference?
The difference lies in the application of YOUR personal efforts in the situation. Understand that God says: “28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light…” Matthew 11:28-30, and then He also tells us: “23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me…” Luke 9:23. These two passages may seem to be diametrically opposed, but in reality they are not.
However, they both call us to take action!
On closer inspection we will find that one tells us to be rid of our burdens and take on The Lord’s because it will be easy and light. This let’s us understand that a burden is of the world and a yoke (of Christ) is of God. One burdens us (literally) while the other sets us free. This being the case, the thing we need to do to alleviate our burdens is to follow the instructions we have been given already, namely the Bible, and give it to Christ. Each trial and tribulation in our lives can be met by the provisions God gives us in His word, and by the example and power of His Son’s life.
So here we lay our burdens down to God.
But in discipleship we must follow our Master, not only in giving Him our burdens, but to following Him carrying our crosses. This IS the path of discipleship, to be like our Master. Each time we obey Him and carry our cross, we become more refined, deeper in our faith, tried and true and tempered to withstand the onslaughts of a sinful planet all around us — and more like Him. And this is how we take up our cross, we stand and meet the challenge with the tools God has given, and expressing the fruits of the spirit which conquer all darkness, we meet the challenge and overcome.
This is walking in Victory and not in failure!
It is becoming sure-footed and dedicated to traveling His path, though it will offer offenses, hurts, trials, etc., but it also means we will be traveling with the power of God fully available in our lives — to meet these challenges and overcome them. When this happens these ‘burdens’ are now simply the stepping-stones to glory they were always intended to be. Why? Because we now are in the living center of what God wants us to do, what God doing within us and finally what God is expressing through us.
He is the answer.
So ‘burdens’ are of the world and are heavy, hurtful things bent on bringing harm to us, in all their destroying nature. ‘Crosses’ are the sacrifices we make that allows for us to be part of the raising the world from it’s gross wickedness into the light of God. It’s a totally different approach, which brings a totally different solution — from the same situation or circumstance!
Without God we have no power to meet these things and overcome them. They simply are burdens of life that weigh us down. I know from my experiences these last few days how true that can be. But when we hand the burdens to God AND take up our cross and follow Him instead, we will walk in the power and majesty of our God. We become the solution ourselves in Him.
Now we are truly a NEW creation.
Be blessed, be loved and be at peace,
Jonathan
