Release Your Burden

Rev. Shine P. Thomas

We all have different burdens in life. A burden can be heaviness of heart, soul, or spirit which can weigh us down physically, emotionally, or spiritually. God knows our limit and He knows exactly how much to burden us with.

How do we deal with our burden? First of all we must understand the different kinds of burden we face. Some of us face the burden of sin. Sin prevents us from enjoying God’s presence in our lives. Jesus can deal with this burden if we surrender our lives to him whereby he restores our relationship with God.

We must also understand that some burdens are God-given for our good. Throughout the Bible we can see God burdened people at different times for his purposes. For reasons not known to you, you may feel a strong desire to minister, witness to someone, pray for someone, do something good, or give something to God. Such thoughts and feelings are a burden from the Lord. Understand God wants to do something through you and has given you a burden. The only way to release a God-given burden is to obey and submit to whatever God is calling us to do.

Then there are other kinds of burdens like sickness, rejection, stress, financial crisis, failure, death of a loved one, unemployment, unanswered prayers etc. Such burdens can again weigh heavily on one’s heart. Many a times we do not have a clear understanding of why we have to go through all these problems, but remember the only solution to all burdens is Jesus. Jesus is capable of dealing with every situation of man, and he is calling all to come to him.

Jesus said "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."

Jesus is motivated by love, and He loves you no matter what you have done. There is nothing Jesus cannot handle. Jesus enables us to face life daily without feeling the weight of our load. However, if we want Jesus to lift our burdens, we must submit our will to him (accept His yoke). When Jesus takes our load he will first transform us into his likeness. Then Jesus will be our guide and enable us to live daily with our burdens without feeling the weight of them.

Christmas time has again come, another New Year dawn is awaiting us. Let us cast our burdens on Jesus, enjoy life to its full this Christmas, and begin the New Year expecting great things from our Lord.