Lay Down Your Burdens

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you  rest." - Matthew 11:28

     It seems like we all fight the same battles, day in, and day out, only to fall short each time. In Romans 7:15 we read, "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." Isn't this so true? 

     According to Isaiah 59:1-2, we have all done wrong and gone astray, and the things we do wrong cause a separation between us and God. No one can bridge that gap by their own efforts. Jesus is the only way. On the Cross He took all our wrongdoing upon Himself (Isiah 53:6) and paid the price for our sins.

     Victory comes when we stop trying to gain it in our own strength. It comes when we lay our heavy burden at the foot of the Cross, turn our lives over to the Lord, and are willing to let the Holy Spirit take the lead. Only then can the process of transformation begin, for it is God "who works in us to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Philippians 2:13). All good things we have or become, whatever the world's explanation may be, are a result of His grace, and His grace alone.
      This past week, my husband and I were talking about burdens. How, sometimes, we carry burdens for so long, and they start to build up. What we fail to realize often times, is that God is there, to take our burdens. In Matthew 11:28-30, it says, "Come to Me, all you 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
     We need to all remember this. We need to all come to the cross of Christ, give him our worries, pain, strife, needs, wants, concerns, and love. We need to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength... in doing this, we please the Father in Heaven. So, go to the Cross of Christ, lay down your burdens, and give your all in all to Him!

 Come As You Are:

Come out of sadness

From wherever you've been

Come broken hearted

Let rescue begin

Come find your mercy

Oh sinner come kneel

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can't heal

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can't heal

So lay down your burdens

Lay down your shame

All who are broken

Lift up your face

Oh wanderer come home

You're not too far

So lay down your hurt

Lay down your heart

Come as you are

There's hope for the hopeless

And all those who've strayed

Come sit at the table

Come taste the grace

There's rest for the weary

Rest that endures

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can't cure

So lay down your burdens

Lay down your shame

All who are broken

Lift up your face

Oh wanderer come home

You're not too far

Lay down your hurt

Lay down your heart

Come as you are

Come as you are

Fall in his arms

Come as you are

There's joy for the morning

Oh sinner be still

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can't heal

Earth has no sorrow

That heaven can't heal

So lay down your burdens

Lay down your shame

All who are broken

Lift up your face

Oh wanderer come home

You're not too far

So lay down your hurt

Lay down your heart

Come as you are