Matthew 11:28-30 

New International Version (NIV)

“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.”

For Meditation

“I have heard it before. So, tell me something new and believable.” Maybe you’ve responded this way to Jesus’ invitation to the weary and burdened to come to Him for the rest you need (Matt. 11:28-30). You may have walked away, shaking your head with disbelief, while being crushed under the weight of your burden.

1. But, have you stopped to consider the One who throws you His helping hand? Have you examined the evidence about Him?
2. What happened when Elisha told Naaman, the Syrian General with the heavy burden of leprosy, to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times for the cure he came seeking from Israel’s God? Do you remember Naaman’s servants’ counsel to him when the proud General stormed away, offended by the prophet’s prescription for his cure? “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” (2 Kings 5:10-13).
3. What happened when Naaman reluctantly went and dipped seven times in the Jordan, as the prophet prescribed (14-15)? Where was the burden after that? Where was his worry? Now, don’t tell me you don’t know that Jesus was the Healer and lifter of Naaman burden and worry.
4. How about Jairus with the burden of his twelve-year old daughter (Mk. 5:21-24, 33-42), the woman with the twelve-year hemorrhaging burden (25-34), the man with the demon-possessed boy at the foot of the Mt. of Transfiguration (Mk. 9:17-27), the invalid by the side of the Pool of Bethesda for thirty-eight years (Jn. 5:1-15), the man born blind 9:1-1-6), and Martha, the sister of Lazarus (11:1-44)? What do their stories testify to you about Jesus?
5. Do you really need rest from your burden? Can you trust Jesus with your worries now? Can you bring them before His throne of grace, and receive His peace that transcends understanding to settle your heart and mind in Him (Heb. 4:16; Phil. 4:6-7)?

I pray you remember that when you take Jesus’ challenge, He yokes with you and gently takes you where you must go, carrying your burden and doing everything for you. You just tag along.

So: May you trade your stubborn resistance for Christ’s gentleness and humility; and may you experience His power in your situation that will cause you to exclaim with amazement: “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!” (Lk. 8:25).

Shalom