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Give Jesus Your Burdens
My wife taught me a lesson recently about marriage. I was experiencing some difficulties on my job, and it had begun to drag me down. It seemed there was pressure and uncertainty, no matter where I looked, and I had become moody and depressed. It was a heavy load to carry, and I was trying to carry it alone. Then one evening, the situation brewing for so long finally came to a head. There were harsh words, short tempers and long speeches. Then, both of us in tears, we embraced and apologized to each other.
My wife said to me, "Don't try to carry the load by yourself. Let me carry it with you. That is what I'm here for." I had forgotten that she is my helpmate and companion in the faith. All along she wanted to help carry my burden, but I would not let her.
But also, there was another Person who wanted to carry my burden, all of it, and I would not let Him either. How it must have hurt Jesus and disappointed Him that I had a problem and would not talk to Him about it.
"O Jerusalem," Jesus lamented as He viewed the city from the mountain top, "How I have longed to take you under My wings as a mother hen does her chicks, AND YE WOULD NOT." (Matthew 23:37). I imagine that you too have done this same thing. Jesus repeatedly comes to us with open arms, "Come unto me," He cries, "all of you that labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28-30). "Cast all of your care upon Me for I care for you." (1 Peter 5:6-7). He longs for us to spend time with Him in the closet of prayer. In these times of quietness, it is then that you hear the soft slap of sandals, the rustle of a cloak, and you feel a nail-scarred hand fall gently on your shoulder. His soft, warm voice whispers to your soul, "Don't worry. Everything is going to be alright."
I read recently about a man who was confined to a hospital bed, his body deteriorating under the spell of a terminal illness. Even though very sick and near death, his faith remained pure, simple, and childlike. He always kept an empty chair next to his bedside. When asked by the Chaplain during one visit why he always had a chair pulled up next to his bed, the man replied, "Someone once told me that I could talk to Jesus just like I talk to my best friend. So, I invite Jesus to pull up a chair and talk for a while."
The day the man passed away, his daughter remarked how content that he looked. She had come into his room to find that he had died, his head resting on the seat of the empty chair by his bed.
In Jesus we have a Friend who sticks closer than a brother. He desires that we cast our cares on Him and find rest for our souls. No matter what you are going through now, now matter how hopeless the situation may seem, Jesus invites you to, "Pull up a chair, and let's talk."
Thank you Lord that you care so much for us, no matter what we are going through. Even a sparrow does not fall without You being there, and You value us more than the sparrows!
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