How can this be true?
Life is hard. It holds trials and suffering. It holds death and pain.
Matthew 11:28-29 "Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of
you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and
you will find rest for your souls.'"
It's true because we are never carrying the load alone. If we allow him to, Jesus bears the load with
us. Just like two oxen are yoked together to pull the load, Jesus is yoked with
us. The difference is that when you yoke oxen, you choose a pair that are the same
size so neither of them bears a greater
load. With Jesus we are yoked to one much "larger" greater than ourselves. If we come to him and give him our heavy burdens, he will do the greater part of the load bearing.
The issue is not that Jesus fails to carry the load, it is
that we fail to leave it to him to carry it. We bring it to him but are not
patient enough to leave it there till the answer comes.
We try to "fix" things on our own. This usually
ends is more trouble. Let's think about Abraham and Sarah for a minute.
God promised Abraham a son. Genesis 15:4 "Then the Lord
said to him, 'No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son
of your own who will be your heir.'”
Ten years later, when Sarah got tired of waiting for the promise
(answer) to be fulfilled, she took matters into her own hands. Genesis 16:1-5
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she
had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has
prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can
have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. So Sarai,
Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife.
This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan. So Abram
had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. But when Hagar knew
she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt. Then
Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault! I put my servant into your arms,
but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt. The Lord will show
who’s wrong—you or me!”
Whose idea was that again?
Our answers might not take ten years to come, but if we are honest, even
a ten minute delay in our plans causes some of us to grow anxious.
This is where faith and trust come in. Webster defines faith
as: firm belief in something for which there is no proof; complete trust.
If we believe God is who he says he is we can put our faith
in him. We can trust him to carry our burdens and to fulfill his promises to
us. The Word is full of promises that are ours.
2 Corinthians 1:20 For all of God’s promises have been
fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen”
which means “Yes” ascends to God for his glory.
Will God heal you?
YES! Will God provide for ALL
your needs? YES! Will God give you peace? YES!
Will God sustain you through the trials of life? YES!
So we say AMEN!!!
Matthew 9:29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “Because of your
faith, it will happen.”
Hebrews 11 is the hallway of faith. As we travel down it, we
see countless men and women who put their faith in God and saw amazing things
happen. Noah (rescued from the flood), Enoch (didn't see death but was taken up
to heaven), Moses (leaving Egypt, Red Sea parting, etc.)
These and many others are commended for their faith,
however, many of them didn't see the fulfillment of their promise. Many of them
faced great adversity. Many struggled under heavy burdens. Many lost
everything. And none of then saw all the fulfillment. Yet they all placed their
faith in God. Hebrews 11:39 "All these people earned a good reputation
because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had
promised."
Will we, like the men and women of old, put our faith in God,
allow him to carry our burden, and keep trusting even when we can't see the
answer? Will we trust the One who
promised?
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