35. FOUR (4) WAYS TO EASE YOUR BURDENS

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At times, even as Christians, life can have us feeling bugged down, burdened, tired and overwhelmed. In short, it can throw so much at us, that we can truly feel exhausted.

Yet, in the Bible, Jesus stated, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you REST. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find REST unto your souls.For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Despite all the mayhem happening in the world therefore, Jesus invites us to take the time to learn of him. For, whereas we at times feel burdened by life, including people and all the trouble that they can bring, Jesus has let us know that when we come to him and learn of him, we find rest for our souls. For, his yoke is easy and unlike us, his burden is not heavy but light.

If we lean into him therefore and learn of him and his ways, we can benefit. Our loads and burdens can be made to feel lighter and there is no better place to learn of Jesus than in the Word of God, the Bible. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that the Word of God (the Bible) is Jesus in written form!

John 1:1-4, 14-17 states that:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.In him was life; and the life was the light of men…And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH.John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.For the law was given by Moses, but GRACE AND TRUTH came by Jesus Christ.”

In Revelation 19:13, of the vision he saw of Jesus in the future, John stated:

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.“

Given that Jesus is the Word of God (the Bible) and that he has already told us that we can find rest in HIM because his yoke is easy and his burden is light, it therefore means that there must be information in the Bible as to how we as Christians, can be relieved of our day-to day burdens which at times can weigh so heavily upon us. In addition to casting all of our cares upon Jesus, there are things that the Bible specifically recommends that God’s people do, so as to avoid feeling bugged down by life.

From my own life experience, I can say first-hand that whatever Jesus (the Word of God) tells us to do, works. When we feel burdened down by life, heavy, bitter, resentful, depressed or overwhelmingly sad, sometimes (although not always), these are due to us not doing what has been prescribed in the Word for us to do.

The fact of the matter is that there are some things that the Bible tells us to do, which, when we obey, makes us feel lighter, fresher and relieves us from feeling burdened, down-trodden, weary and depressed. Some of these are as follows:-

1. FORGIVENESS

To relieve your burden, you need to forgive men their trespasses.

Someone may have hurt you badly but whether or not the one who offended or hurt you is sorry, when you finally decide to let it all go and to release the person you are holding so much venom against, you stop feeling bitter, resentful, heavy, burdened, angry, upset and on edge every time you see the person or hear his or her name or his or her voice. Instead, you experience a feeling of peace and calm, that passeth all understanding.

So important is the need for forgiveness of others to our well-being and welfare, that in Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus stated: “…if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

When we choose not to forgive people therefore and in so doing, refuse to extend mercy to others, God then refuses to extend mercy to us or to forgive us of our sins, which are far greater. No wonder we feel miserable inside when we hold on to stuff or to grudges!

2. SEPARATION

To relieve your burden, you need to come out from among ungodly influences, people, places, practices, things and attitudes and to be separate.

This may be difficult to do, especially given that your flesh wants you to do otherwise. Yet, when you let go of ungodly influences in your life and all that is not good for your spiritual edification and growth, whether it be people, a television show, gossiping or anything you know displeases God, you experience in the aftermath, a feeling of victory and peace. You feel light, refreshed and even cleansed from the scum, baggage, filth or otherwise ungodly influence that you were once around or entertaining.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 commands us, as it pertains to relationships, friendships, business partnerships, associations and life in general:

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

To figure out what you need to separate from, ask God for wisdom, study his Word and examine everything that is in your life, asking yourself whether it is for your spiritual welfare or not. If it undermines your Christian walk, then no matter what or who it is, it most likely needs to go.

Once you remove yourself from that thing, person or environment, you will be amazed at how much better, lighter, less burdened and refreshed you feel.

3. CONFESSION

To relieve your burden, you need to confess your transgressions unto the Lord.

When you’ve done wrong, confessing what you’ve done honestly to the Lord (instead of making excuses) and even to people, removes that heavy feeling or burden you’ve been carrying. The Bible states that we should confess our faults one to another and pray one for another, so that we may be healed, not keep what we’ve done to ourselves and bottled up inside (James 5:16).

David in the Bible, experienced first-hand, the wonderful healing power of confession. He had kept his wrongdoing to himself at one point and not confessed what he had done to the Lord or to anyone else but then this began to affect his health. It was only when he acknowledged his sin humbly before God in repentance, that he got any relief.

Of his experience, David said in Psalm 32:1-6:

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.”

Of the need for confession in order to obtain God’s forgiveness, God invited his children in Isaiah 1, to come to him when they had messed up and to be honest about their sins. In verses 4-8, he lamented through his Prophet:

“Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city.”

Yet, despite the extent of their sins against him and the disastrous consequences they had reaped as a result, like restlessness and everything but peace, in his love for them, God was prepared to forgive and to begin the healing process which they so desperately needed. However, they had to first humble themselves and come to him and repent for their wrong, turning away from all their wrongdoing. He told them in verse 18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

When we acknowledge that we have sinned (instead of trying to cover it up) are sorry for it, weep over it and go to God and people and confess what we’ve done, in repentance, the Lord is then able to cleanse us from all the unrighteousness that characterized our sin or flowed as a consequence of it, including that feeling of heaviness, hopelessness and sadness.

1 John 1:8-9 tells us as Christians that: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

James 5:16 states, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

There is a healing that comes therefore, when we confess what we’ve done to others. Of course, this does not mean that we are to let the whole world or even an entire congregation know where we’ve messed up, as not everybody in the world and sad to say, even in the Church membership is genuinely interested in us being healed but in being malicious and spreading gossip, for entertainment purposes and so as to damage our reputation and testimony. However, we can ask God to reveal to us wise and spiritually mature Christians who are for our spiritual growth, success and welfare, that we can go to in confidentiality, to confess our faults and get help, in prayer, for our issues, so that we can be healed.

4. OBEDIENCE

To relieve your burden, you need to do whatsoever the Lord says unto you to do.

In short, you need to obey God. This fourth point is general and includes all of the other three points above, as the Word of God calls us as Christians, in obedience, to continually forgive others, to be separate from all ungodliness and to confess our sins.

In John 2:5, when the wine embarrassingly finished at the Wedding at Cana, Mary, who must have had some inkling into Jesus’ power and knew what beautiful results could be produced by simply obeying him, told the servants of Jesus: “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.“

We must do the same. We must be resolved to obey the Lord, whatever it may be that he wants us to do.

In Luke 6:46, Jesus himself stated, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”

Even if obeying means that we find ourselves in a place of discomfort, pain and ridicule, in the midst of all that because God blesses obedience, he brings such heavenly comfort, peace, strength and solace, that we feel light, completely at peace and not burdened.

Even if we are in a place that we deem to be nice and comfortable, like a prestigious job that pays well, if God calls us to leave and we choose to remain there in disobedience, we may still collect that hefty salary and receive all of the earthly accolades that come with the position but as Christians, we will have no peace within. We will feel uneasy, unsettled, heavy and burdened because we have disobeyed.

The same holds true when we remain with that person that God told us is not right for us in terms of a relationship. When we ignore and disobey him and progress forward with that relationship anyway, we cannot expect to reap peace and blessings later on but instead, some burdensome fruit.

SUMMARY

In conclusion, Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you REST.”

The truth of the matter is, that sometimes, we are heavy laden and burdened down with our own sin, manifesting itself in our unwillingness to FORGIVE, to SEPARATE from those people, things, places, practices and attitudes that we know God wants us to make a clean break from. We are unwilling to be honest with ourselves and with the Lord about the wrongs that we have done, why we did them and the sins that we have committed and therefore to CONFESS that we have sinned, to him and even to others and on the whole, we are unwilling to submit ourselves to what we know the Word of God says and what the will of God is, in OBEDIENCE.

Yet, the rest that Jesus Christ offers, invites us to enter into and abide in in HIM, requires us to let go of these things. We need to FORGIVE those that have hurt us, whether they are sorry or not or deserving or not. We are not deserving of God’s forgiveness, having messed up so many times in life, both before we came to the Lord and even after we became Christians. Yet, he has dealt with us in mercy. Even when he chastened us, this was him dealing with us as with sons, for our spiritual welfare because he loves us.

We need to SEPARATE from all ungodliness, that which displeases God, that which he has instructed us to so do and that which we know undermines our Christian walk and testimony. It may feel like an uphill battle or struggle because this thing or person or practice has gained a foothold or a stronghold in our lives but in the name of Jesus Christ and through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, if we desire to please God and ask him for help, we can be victorious in this area.

We need to also CONFESS when we have sinned, to God and even to others and not try to justify it with excuses, so as to cast ourselves in a good light. Proverbs 21:2 states that “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.” It therefore lets us know what we already know, which is that we have a tendency to paint ourselves in favourable terms and to try to explain away everything we do as okay, so that we can avoid feeling guilty for our wrong and face the consequences. We must practice honesty though, where we call a spade a spade, even when we are the one that is wrong. We must be able to say: I did this and I was wrong. I sinned and I have no excuse for what I did.

We must also practice OBEDIENCE to the Lord’s will, even when we don’t understand or don’t feel like obeying and where our own self-will wants to do otherwise. In Luke 6:46, Jesus stated, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”

On the whole therefore, when we feel burdened down by life, we should examine ourselves in light of God’s Word and see if there are any areas that we need to fix, in obedience to God’s will. Is there someone that we have not forgiven and are harbouring malice and ill-will against? Is there some sin that we have not yet confessed but have made light of, put on a back-burner and even dismissed as not important? Is there someone or something or some practice that we need to put away, completely remove ourselves from and shut the door to? Is there some area in our lives that we know we are being disobedient?

If you have no unconfessed sin at the moment, have forgiven everyone who wronged you or who you perceived as having wronged you, have separated yourself from all ungodliness and ungodly influences and are seeking every day to live a life of obedience unto God, then kudos to you! You’re on the right track! If however, after all of this, you’re still feeling burdened, sad and depressed in life, then dig deeper. Spend more time searching God’s Word for answers. There are more instructions and commands from God’s Word as to what you need to do, which will be sure to be of help to you.

Go to God with how you feel and ask him, as you read his Word, to direct you to a portion of scripture or scriptures that can shed light on the nature of your issue, so that it can be made right. When, in his faithfulness, God reveals to you the nature of your problem, be sure to treat with it in exactly the way that the Lord prescribes you to in his Word.

Be sure to also meditate upon uplifting scriptures of truth that can help you, like reminding yourself that the joy of the Lord is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

(Written on 29th January, 2022)

Dear Reader, if you found the above Articles to be interesting, informative, beneficial or edifying, you may also be interested in reading the following:

Note 37 – ‘When God Calls Us To Separate Ourselves’
Note 148 – ‘Just One Thing May Be Holding You Back’
Note 151 – ‘What Is God Calling You To Cast Out Of Your Life?’
Note 186 – ‘There Is Beautiful Provision In Obedience’
Note 199 – ‘Dear Christian, Disobedience Does Not Pay’
Note 218 – ‘The Rightness Of Separation’
Note 242 – ‘Note To Self: Feeling Defeated? Check Your Armour’

Under the ‘SINGLE Daughters’ Page:

Note 43 – ‘Claiming The Promises of God – Part 1’
Note 44 – ‘Claiming The Promises of God – Part 2’
Note 45– ‘I Know The Plans I Have For You…’
Note 46 – ‘The Sins Of The Tongue’
Note 47 – The Sins Of The Tongue (Reloaded)’
Note 49 – ‘Self-inflicted Wounds?’
Note 105 – ‘Are You Putting Yourself In The Line Of Fire?’
Note 48 – ‘Taming The Tongue – What The Bible Says About Gossip’
Note 139 – ‘Have You Really Forgiven? Really?’
Note 148 – ‘What Does The Bible Say About Being Unequally Yoked With An Unbeliever?’
Note 164 – ‘Seven (7) Mindsets That Will Keep You Stuck In The Land Of Sterility’
Note 204 – ‘So You Have A Prayer Life – How Is Your Repentant Life?’
Note 222 – ‘Suffering? Bad Attitudes That Will Only Make It Worse’
Note 264 – ‘Lord, Why Aren’t You Blessing Me?’