May 10
8:03 AM
Let Go, Let God
May 10
8:03 AM
May 10
8:03 AM
Monday, May 10, 2021
Matthew 11:28-29
Have you ever heard the old saying, "Let go and let God"? The whole idea is very simple. You need to let go of whatever it is you're trying to run, manage, etc., and you need to give it to God and let God do it. Now, that sounds so beautiful, and it sounds so nice, but it's not always easy to do when there's lots of reasons why we don't want to let go. We don't like to give up control, do we? Sometimes we don't want to let go because we don't know what God's going to do with it. Sometimes we don't want to let go because we just would rather go with the familiar even if it's painful, than the unfamiliar even if it's pleasant.
I want to talk to you about a passage that, to me, screams "let go and let God" like none other. And it has to do with those of us who are weary. You know, we live in an age where people are just tired. Work asks for more from you. Life asks for more. I honestly just had a week where I feel that weight. It's what drove me to this whole passage, because this past week I was doing funerals, Midweek Bible Study, Sunday meetings, spring-time events, and a friend of mine opened up a new building for his dental practice, so I went to that. There were just lots of different things. So, I needed to let go and let God. I need to let go of all the things that are worrying me, and let God do something with it. That comes from a passage that's very familiar to those of you who have read the Bible. It's Matthew 11:28-29. I want you to take in these words if you're struggling with letting go and letting God with respect to your weariness. Jesus said, "Come to me, all 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." The key, the part that's really central to experiencing this rest, is where Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you." In other words, don't take the burden or yoke of life upon you, take the burden or yoke of Christ upon you. He gives you a light load, a light burden.
Sometimes we have big burdens because we think we're able to handle them. Sometimes God allows us to go through them to say you can't handle them. He says, "Take my yoke, take my burden." Whose burden are you taking these days, your own or God's? Sometimes we take our own burdens because we expect ourselves to do certain things. That's me. Sometimes we expect that others expect us to do something. That's me too. Sometimes we just expect that the job's got to get done, and nobody else is there do it. Whatever it is. Sometimes we have to put down our expector and stop carrying somebody else's burden, or the false burden of needless pressure. And we just need to carry Christ's burden. Maybe some of you need to hear that today. You don't need to carry more than you're designed to carry. If you take Christ's burden, or his yoke if you will, which is pictured as a mature ox and an immature ox working together, where the mature ox would do the bulk of the plowing with a yoke around his neck, and the younger ox would follow along. That's the picture. So, we let Christ lead the plowing of the burdens of your life for you, so you don't have to carry them.
Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for the reminder that not all the burdens we carry are meant for us to carry, and that we need to give them to you. We just carry your burdens, because your burdens and yoke are easy and light. Speak to people who are listening to me today who are just overwhelmed, and give them the wisdom to know what yoke they need to carry and what yoke they need to give up. Replace it with the yoke of you. Help us to rest in you and find rest for our weariness, in Jesus' name. Amen.