Matthew 11:28-29 – “Come to me, all 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.”
Have you ever fallen victim to the old ‘money on a string’ trick? A prankster ties a thin fishing line to a twenty-dollar bill and then drops the money on a path while holding on to the line. Hiding behind a tree or a mailbox, the jokester lays in wait for a victim, who spots the free cash and bends to grab the money. At just the right moment, the string is tugged, and the victim is caught off-balance.
Many believers tie a similar string around the burdens they bring to the cross. They think they can keep their options open by holding tight to that string and they are ready to pull those worries back if they change their mind.
It takes an enormous amount of trust to surrender those burdens at the Cross, but Jesus is entirely trustworthy. He wants to heal the wounds of your past, He promises to meet your present needs, and He eagerly awaits the opportunity to bless you in your future. God knows those you carry and His love for them is perfect and all-powerful. He delights in giving you the desires of your heart, and He longs to give you rest.
However, He can only do so if you leave those burdens at His feet. No strings attached.
“Men do not avail themselves of the riches of God’s grace. They love to nurse their cares, and seem as uneasy without some fret as an old friar would be without his hair girdle. They are commanded to cast their cares upon the Lord, but even when they attempt it, they do not fail to catch them up again, and think it meritorious to walk burdened.” – Henry Ward Beecher
God wants us to get the following truth so deep in our hearts that He says this twice in His word.
Psalm 55:22 – “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.”
1 Peter 5:6-7 – “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
When reading these passages, I saw in my mind’s eye an enormous archery target on a wall. It was made of industrial strength velcro. Instead of a bullseye, there was a cross in the centre. A few yards away from the target was a basket full of balls, also made of velcro. Those balls are our cares. We are invited to hurl those cares on the Cross with the force of an All-Star pitcher and then to step back, realising that those cares are now stuck on the Cross. With considerable and deliberate effort, we could probably peel those balls off, but why would we do so?
I encourage you to label the balls in that basket with the cares that immediately came to your mind when you read Psalm 55:22 and 1 Peter:5-6. Now visualise yourself hurling them on the Cross. You now have a choice, you can try to peel them off, or you can leave them there, where they belong.
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All Bible verses attributed to the ESV version unless otherwise indicated.
Until Next Week
2018 Katherine Walden
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