Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Matthew 11:30
Come to Christ
Step one for any of us to rid ourselves of our heavy burdens is to do as Jesus says; “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). Jesus says the gospel includes repentance and faith (Mark 1:15), so until you come to Jesus, there can be no rest. You will have to carry your own burdens around.
All Who Labor
Next, after you come to Jesus and choose to follow Him, you can stop your laboring. Many who I speak with or write to are trying to clean themselves up before they come to Christ, but I tell them, that’s God’s job. Come to Jesus and trust in Him, and He will become your very righteousness that’s needed to enter the kingdom (2nd Cor 5:21). They are trying to work their way up to a relationship with God, and God will not accept any works from us (Eph 2:9). He will accept the works we do because we are saved to do good (Eph 2:10).
The Heavy Laden
I remember carrying around an anvil. Those old things you used to see blacksmiths use where they shaped and formed horse shoes with a hammer. They’d get the horseshoe really hot and then start hammering on it to do whatever it needs to be fit the horse. I think God’s done that to me a few times too. He ran me through the fire and hammered me and straightened me out about some things. That anvil that they used was portable, but you could hurt yourself carrying that thing around, and anvils come in handy when you need them, but they’re not mean to carry around, so that’s why we all need to come to Jesus and lay every burden down to get ourselves some rest (Matt 11:28).
Learn From Him
After we have come to Jesus and unloaded every care and burden, we can rest but not rest and do nothing. Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt 11:29). What’s the best way to learn from Jesus? To be “gentle and lowly in heart,” otherwise, you and I are not going to find any rest.
Get Some Rest
If we learn to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him, we’ll see that we need to be like Him, and that means we’re to be “gentle and lowly in heart” just like He was. If we are gentle and lowly in heart, we’re going to find it easier to rest. That’s because a humble person is one who accepts the will of God, both the good and the bad, and trusts God that all these things will work out according to His will (Rom 8:28). That should let your mind rest…and that is something we could all use.
Conclusion
Speak to Jesus now and tell Him you believe that His “yoke is easy, and [His] burden is light.” Come to Him now and stop your laboring to be “good enough.” Lay down that anvil. It’s too heavy and it’s not being used for what it was intended for. That should give you time to sit down and rest, and learn from Christ, and that learning starts in the Word of God, reading about the Son of God.
