Unburdened

Are you carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders? Are you exhausted from serving God? Do you feel tired of the pressure? Are you being crushed by stress? It’s not supposed to be this way. Let me repeat myself, it is not supposed to be this way. God does not want you to feel the burden of all your problems. He especially doesn’t want you to carry the weight of everyone else’s. God wants you to be happy . He wants you to be free from worry and anxiety. Perhaps you are so tired, because you are doing something different than what God called you to do. When you feel overwhelmed, maybe it’s because you are doing what God hasn’t told you to do. Pride can be a dangerous thing. The biggest problem with pride is that you don’t realize you have it. Pride destroys you while you are focused on everything else. If you think it’s your responsibility to worry over everything, it’s not. It’s God’s job to run the universe, not yours. Only God can carry the weight of the world, and solve everyone’s problems. I would suggest listening to the advice of Peter in the following scripture.

“GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:5b-7‬ ‭NASB‬‬

If you are feeling dry and run down, maybe it’s because you are trying to do it all yourself. Humble yourself under God’s hand, and hand Him your struggles. Anxiety is not God’s will for you. Faith is God’s will for you. God wants you to trust Him with everything, not to bear the burdens yourself. So if you want relief, give it to God and stop grabbing it back.

When you are feeling burned out in your working for God, stop it. God doesn’t want you to work for Him. God wants you to work with Him. If you think serving God is hard, you are wrong. Serving God is easy, if you are doing it with Jesus. Jesus said this,

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:28-30‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Jesus yoke is easy and His burden is light. Jesus does not want you to be weary in His service. He wants you to be at rest in Him. The reason you are so exhausted and burned out working for God, is because you are doing it without God. God doesn’t need you to do it for Him. God wants you to do it with Him, in fellowship, and in love. When Jesus says to take His yoke upon you, that implies partnership. He isn’t looking for slaves, He is looking for partners. A yoke is put on two oxen, not one. If you are yoked to Jesus, it’s easy. He does all the work, because He is way stronger than you. You just get to go along for the ride. Your work with God is a gift, by His grace. If what you are doing for God is a burden, you are cutting yourself off from the source. Don’t stay in your own performance and self effort, rest in Jesus. He loves you and gives good gifts, not curses. Believe that today. Dwell in His presence and be restored and refreshed. And as my pastor Michael Gragg likes to say,” If it’s not good, it’s not God, and if it’s not good, God’s not done.” Work with Jesus, not for Him. Let Him love you in the process.

If you don’t know Jesus, I want to give you the opportunity to trust Him for your salvation and receive His finished work by faith. If you want to make Jesus the Lord of your life, simply pray this in your heart, as a way to put your faith in Him. Say, “ Jesus, I make you the Lord of my life. I know I’m a sinner, but I believe. I believe that You are the Son of God. I believe You died on the cross for my sins, and I believe that You rose on the third day for my justification. I ask you to save me now. I receive you by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen”