“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-29 NKJV).
Among the many titles which Jesus bears some include, the Burden-bearer; the other one is the Helper of the helpless. The story of the Unjust Judge illustrates a widow seeking relief from injustice. Jesus bears not only the burden of our sins but the burdens of life which we cannot carry.
Many of us are carrying burdens that are beyond us; loads which we needless bear. If only we know that Jesus is our burden-bearer we would drop our burdens at his feet.
The Amplified Edition of Psalm 68:19 describes God as our burden-bearer.
“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.” (Psalm 68:19 KJV)
“Blessed be the Lord, who bears our burden day by day, The God who is our salvation! Selah.” (Psalms 68:19 AMP).
The Bible commands that we bear one another’s burden. But ultimately, Jesus is our burden-bearer. Many people are still mourning the death of a certain pastor who died recently in Lagos in June 2021. They are mourning him because of his humanitarian gestures to them, he helped to carry their physical burdens. But they fail to realize that Jesus is the real burden-bearer. The late pastor was simply God’s channel of assisting the people. If only they would look up to God and not to man.
How does God bear our burdens? He does this in several ways. He bore our sins on the cross (Isaiah 53). He makes our problems go away (Isaiah 10:27). Like Paul, he gives you the grace to endure the burden (2 Cor.12: 7-10). We grow in patience through endurance. He causes the enemy to be put in disarray. That is, he troubles those who trouble you (2 Chro.32:1-23; 2 Chronicles 20). He bears our burden by comforting us in our tribulations (2 Corinthians 1:4).
God’s kind of rest comes through Jesus. Rest is not just relaxing but unburdening your troubles and having a deep sense of peace because of whom Jesus is. The writer of Hebrews states that, “If Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day” (Hebrews 4:8) – and that ‘day’ is a day made possible through Jesus. As Jesus himself promised, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Jesus gives us rest from our worries and anxieties (1 Peter 5:7; Matthew 6:25-34). He gives us rest amid the turmoils of life. This is the rest God gives to his children when the storms of life rage. When John Wesley encountered the Moravians at the sea during his voyage from America, he was challenged by their calmness and courage while the turbulence of the sea raged. Their unusual courage and calmness in the storm convinced John Wesley that he was not yet born again.
Jesus gives us rest from the many fears we face. God has not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of love and sound mind. Finally, he also gives us eternal rest when we die (Rev.14:13).
However, these blessings are only for those who respond to the invitation of Jesus to come to him for rest.
Contact:pastoracukachi@gmail.com
