When It Feels Too Heavy

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for you souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” -Jesus (Matthew 11:29-30)

      

    I don't know about you, but for me, sometimes the burden that comes with following Christ feels anything but 'light'. No, sometimes it feels very heavy. Sometimes the weight of what I'm called to do and be as a follower of Jesus feels like too much to carry. Loving my enemies, serving my neighbours, living a pure life that glorifies God... the list of burdens goes on and on and the weight of what I 'should do' gets heavier and heavier.

     Sometimes the weight of what I'm called to do and be as a follower of Jesus feels like too much to carry, because I was never meant to carry it. Jesus was.

     If you're in a season in your life right now where the burdens of what you 'should do' are feeling heavy, turn your eyes towards Jesus. He wasn't lying when He said that His “yoke is easy and [His] burden is light.” Jesus is our burden-bearer, and we are to lay every care upon Him. (Phil 4:6, 1 Peter 5:7)

     As many of you know, besides working at camp, I have worked at Starbucks for that last few years. I always had a sense that God had me at Starbucks for a reason and I knew I was doing more than just serving people coffee. I was there to serve people to show them Christ's love. But when I started at Starbucks I had the attitude that I was going to show them Christ's love, and most days I was relying on my own strength to do that. And the weight of that call was heavy. I felt so inadequate and so unprepared to convey how awesome God is to the people around me.

     The burden of showing God's love to people became heavier and heavier until I realized I couldn't do it. Not on my own...

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

     I hung this verse on the inside of my pantry door and every morning, before going to work, I would pray through this verse. I was no longer relying on my own strength to accomplish the things that God had called me to. I was abiding in Christ, and that made all the difference. The burden I felt to reach those at Starbucks for Christ became light. Because I was no longer carrying it on my own. I was able to see that God was and is working at Starbucks and He is just letting me be a part of it. I still feel inadequate for the task of showing God to people, but I know that Jesus is adequate and He equips us through the Holy Spirit.

“The Master-workman surely has a right to use any tool He pleases for His own work, and it is plainly not the business of the tool to decide whether it is the right one to be used or not. He knows; and if He chooses to use us, of course we must be fit. And in truth, if we only knew it, our chief fitness is in our utter helplessness. His strength is made perfect, not in our strength, but in our weakness. Our strength is only a hindrance.”

 -Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911)

     When you feel as though your burden to 'do what you should' is heavy, surrender your control to the Lord. Stop trying to control your life and do everything by your own effort. We were never meant to carry that burden. Christ came and died for us, to put us in right relationship with our Heavenly Father, so that we might accomplish things for His Kingdom by His power. So surrender your will to Christ, saying “Yes!” to everything He calls you to and trust Him to work in you to bring your will and desires into conformity with His perfect will.

     When we do this our burdens do become light, and service to God become exciting and enjoyable. Because God begins to change our desires to His desires, and we want to do the things He calls us to do. It's no longer that we should do them, but that we want to do them. And there is so much freedom and joy in serving our Father God in this way. 

 

This story came to mind as I was writing this post. This woman is an amazing example of someone who has surrendered her will to God, and is humbly serving God and others with JOY! 

Have an awesome week serving our amazing God through the strength that He gives!