Unnecessary Burdens

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Words of Jesus, Matthew 11:28-30

"Come;" -"He drives none away; He calls them to Himself. Not to doctrine, ordinance, nor ministry are we to come first, but to the personal Saviour" Spurgeon

He calls to all those who are heavy burdened.  Jesus wants us to rest in Him, not our self-sufficiency.

"According to Carson, labor implies the burdens we take upon ourselves and heavy laden implies the burdens others put upon us.

The yoke of Jesus is:

-easy and light compared with the yoke of others-

-easy and light as long as we do not rebel against it-

-the yoke of Jesus does not include the burdens we choose to add to it- (Guzik)

"Jesus' nature is meek and lowly, He displays a servant's heart, making Him qualified to be the one who bears our burdens. His gift-rest for our souls.  His yoke is easy and light, BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE BEARING THE YOKE."  Guzik

I recently told a friend of mine that I feel a lot like David.  David seemed to spend a lot of time running and hiding in caves from King Saul. (Why does it seem the innocent tend to do the running and the hiding?  Shouldn't it be the guilty?)

Yes, I've been hiding in a cave.  Trying to protect myself from getting hurt; but the Lord recently gave me a 'lightbulb' moment!

I have been handling my problem incorrectly and it's because I am the one handling the problem!

"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7

"Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22

I do cast my burdens on the Lord, and guess what?  I tend to draw them back in with my net and try to carry them myself.  When I do that, not only do I draw the burdens I casted onto the Lord in the first place, but my net is picking up other trash along the way.  Trash like, "I think I can handle this myself after all," or "What if....?"   or how about, "Why?" 

I've just allowed my burden to increase; I feel my knees buckling from under the weight.  I try to carry it just a little bit longer.  

I'm reminded again, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Ok, Lord, I hear You...

        I will surrender my burdens at Your feet...

            Help me leave them there...

                But that's just me!

"The daily troubles we have are meant to drive us to God."  Spurgeon