Carrying the Right Burdens

“Carrying the Right Burdens”
by Pastor Alli Munsey
January 10, 2021

“Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.”

-Matthew 11:28-30 (TPT)

In Matthew 11:29, Jesus says that his yoke is easy. In Biblical times, farmers would use a yoke in order to plow. When teaching the younger oxen, they would pair them with larger oxen, and they were held together by a yoke, which is a wooden beam that would keep the two animals together. The smaller ox would learn from the larger, more mature ox. It would learn its rhythm, cadence, and how to work. Through this metaphor, Jesus is saying that when we connect ourselves to him, he will help us carry the weight. 

Jesus said in this world, we would have trouble, but to take heart because he has overcome the world (John 16:33). When we feel troubled or weary, we should ask ourselves what burdens we are carrying. We may be weary because we are carrying burdens that we were never meant to carry. 

Jesus said to John that people will know that we are his disciples by how we love them. Godly burdens like expressing love for our neighbors as ourselves are the burdens that Jesus gives us. God gives grace for the burdens he has entrusted us with. We are to throw off the heavy things that are not ours to bear. 

If we are not yoked to Jesus, we will be yoked to something else. If we are yoked to something weaker it will break us. We might be taking on the wrong things. Jesus promised he would give us rest. Receiving God’s rest is a matter of replacing worry with prayer and fear with faith. Praying produces faith; worrying produces fear. 

The human condition causes burdens, but we can bring them to God instead of complaining. When we can’t manage a situation, the word of God can lift burdens off of the backs of people. Let the call on our lives enable us to do the right thing. If we pour ourselves out for the right things, we will find rest for our souls. God is there for us. He will help us with the weight we can’t bear. 

God loves us before we do anything. We can’t outgive God. We can’t outserve God. God loves us right where we are. He gives us grace on our life to do the things that he has called us to do. We have to lay down the things that are causing burdens and weight. We can give Jesus our yoke, the weight, and the outcome. It may be a burden of sin or unforgiveness that has caused weights that we cannot bear. We must remember that we carry the spirit of God, and we are the salt of the earth. Just as salt preserves meat, so can we preserve this world. 

Oftentimes, the way to get out of our pain is to help somebody else. Our spirit needs to depend on the Lord. There is no fear in love. Perfect love is unselfish. Getting out of our pain connects our hearts and spirit. We must make sure that we are not living for the wrong audience. Earth is not our home; heaven is our home. The things we do now and the seeds we sow on earth will last an eternity in heaven. We take our direction from God in heaven, and then we take up the right yoke that Jesus gives us, which is easy to bear.

Reflection/Discussion Questions:

1. What burden are you carrying that you shouldn’t be?

2. What burden do you feel that Jesus has placed on your heart?

3. How will you seek God’s face in the next few weeks to discover what God has for you and how to follow him the right way?

4. What can you do each day to make sure that you are carrying the right burden and not the wrong burden?