Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

Psalm 68:19

You know the burdens—the heavy ones presently consuming our families, our communities, our country, our world. The ones that came from a place on the other side of the world we had never heard of and rapidly spread to every corner of the globe. The burdens are keeping us isolated at home, where they hijack our thoughts and derail our faith. Each one of us is holding our burdens differently, but they are all heavy. We hold them tightly because somewhere along the way, our world and our pride have convinced us to not let them go. They have told us these burdens make us strong and capable and that fierce independence is a virtue. They make us all believe the lie that the reward is in the bearing of burdens, not in laying them down. 

Jesus tells us the opposite. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) A yoke was a wooden harness that fit over the shoulders of oxen and was attached to whatever the animals were assigned to pull. It balanced the load between the two oxen. It never allowed only one to carry all of the weight, but the stronger of the two would carry the most. A weaker animal would always be paired with a stronger, more experienced one, so it would learn how to do the work that was expected. It was still work. It was still hard. But the shared work was always, ALWAYS lighter.       

Stress is an equal opportunity attacker. It will attack your physical health, your mental health, your emotions, and your relationships. Jesus understands how stress hurts you, and He knows that it hurts your relationship with Him, too. When you are burdened, the only way to be relieved of what is too heavy, is to hand it over—not just once, but every single day. Jesus will carry the weight of today’s burdens and tomorrow’s. When you lean into Him and trust His strength and experience, He will give you the rest your heart craves as you learn from Him. He already carried your heaviest burdens to the cross, but He willingly carries your daily burdens, too. His shoulders are stronger, and He will show you how to do the work that is expected, the work He has assigned—with Him, never alone. It is still work. It is still hard. But sharing your daily burdens with Jesus always, ALWAYS makes them lighter! You are loved!