Trailer trucks are amazing to look at until you drive next to it on a highway. Being side by side with it in traffic will give any new driver the chills, given that anything can happen especially if it is carrying more weight than it should.
Much like a cargo truck, humans like us are also limited when it comes to the weight we can carry. For instance, lifting things that are too heavy for us could seriously injure us. It is the same way with emotional burdens, failing to unload a mental baggage can hurt us badly.
As followers of Jesus, we are invited to give these heavy burdens to our Heavenly Father who is more than willing to help us carry the immense weight on our shoulders. He calls us to cast unto Him our baggage filled with despair, disappointments, regrets, resentments, shame and guilt.
“Come to me, all 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.” Matthew 11:28-30
By dying on the cross to be the atonement for our sins, Jesus Christ helps us to be right with God once again. His death repairs the bridge that connects us to the Heavenly Father, which was torn by sin. Think of the sins you have committed and how far it has separated you from God. Jesus offers to bridge that gap for you, if only you would let Him into your life, call Him your Savior, and abide by His teaching and commands.
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
When we have surrendered our life to Christ, and have been reconciled with God, we receive a new identity in Him. No longer will we be identified with our past, no longer will we be defined by our sins, no longer will we be held back by our shame, nor our name synonymous with our mistakes. We will have a new life, a new beginning in Christ, and we will be a child of God.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,” John 1:12
Once we ascribe to the fact that we are sons and daughters of The King of Kings, we will have in our hearts the confidence to cede to our Father God the weight of sin, guilt, shame, depression and anxiety that have been pulling us down. We will receive assurance that the load of inevitable difficulties and problematic situations are not ours to carry by ourselves. We will be confident that there is someone who is more than willing to carry that load for us, because He is our Heavenly Father.
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22
Weight limits are set for a reason. As a Christian, we should know that the only thing we should carry is our daily cross, and the rest — worries about the future, and regrets about the past — our Heavenly Father offers to bear for us.
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Isaiah 41:9-14 and Psalm 121 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Do you still try to carry every mental and emotional burden yourself? What keeps you from giving it to God?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, give me the confidence to fully surrender to You all the mental and emotional burdens that I carry. I know you have asked me for these, and I now totally surrender them to you because you are my Father, and You are in control of everything. Grant me the grace to fully trust in your mercy and loving kindness, and that I may continue abiding in you and have the peace that only you can give. Amen.
