burden – Far More Life

Is there a song that draws out your feelings every time you hear it? For me, it is this one:

“I’m tired. I’m worn.
My heart is heavy from the work it takes to keep on breathing.
I’ve made mistakes. I’ve let my hope fail.
My soul feels crushed by the weight of this world.
I know I need to lift my eyes up, but I’m too weak.
Life just won’t let up.
And my prayers are wearing thin.
I’m worn even before the day begins.
I’m worn, I’ve lost my will to fight.”
(excerpted from “Worn” by Tenth Avenue North)

Sometimes this song reminds me of hard times from my past. Other times it describes the burdens I am carrying at that moment. Burdens many people carry. Worry. Depression. Guilt. Anxiety. Shame. Regret. Loneliness. Doubt. Fear. Confusion. Worthlessness.

Where do we find rest? The escape of sleep? The numbness of alcohol or substances? The distraction of hobbies or shopping? The indulgence of comfort food or media binges? The comfort of sex, self-harm, or careful planning? The thrill of risk-taking? Those may bring temporary relief, but it never lasts. We must resume the struggle before our strength is fully restored. This cycle breaks us down more and more over time. We grow tired and worn.

Friend, have you tried resting in Jesus? He has extended an open invitation:

Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Put on my yoke, and learn from me. (Mathew 11:28-29, CEB)

Come to me. How do you go to Jesus? With a humble heart through prayer. A humble heart is willing to confess your weakness, emptiness, exhaustion, and hopelessness. It admits what you are doing is not working and you need help. Prayer is simply talking to God. There are no rules about what or how to pray. It can be out loud or in your mind. Your eyes can be opened or closed. You can pray anywhere at any time while doing anything. There are no special words and no forbidden words. Since Jesus already knows everything you are thinking, feeling, and experiencing, it is safe to be open and honest with Him.

All who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads. Who can go to Jesus? Anyone who is tired. You do not have to figure anything out first. You do not have to “clean house”. You do not have to get your act together. Go to Jesus just as you are. He will welcome you with open arms.

I will give you rest. Jesus is not offering a temporary escape or distraction or numbness. He offers rest that will refresh and replenish your heart, mind, soul, and body. He wants to permanently relieve you of heavy burdens.

Put on my yoke. A yoke joins two oxen together so they can share the workload. Wise and caring trainers start young oxen with a very light yoke and increase the weight and bulk as the oxen grow strong enough to handle it. When correctly fitted, the yoke does not feel heavy, even when the oxen are pulling a heavy load. Jesus wants to share our yoke and help carry our burdens. He offers a perfectly-fitted yoke so we are no longer exhausted and crushed under their weight. When we yield to Him, trying things His way, we find the lightness and joy He has promised His followers, even in hard situations. Jesus calls this far more life:

I came to bring them life, and far more life than before. (John 10:10, PHILLIPS)

Learn from me. Yoked oxen learn to follow their trainers’ commands. The trainer prepares them to navigate the field successfully, avoiding dangers and obstacles. Jesus can teach us to navigate life successfully. He can empower us to overcome worry, depression, guilt, anxiety, shame, regret, loneliness, doubt, fear, confusion, and worthlessness. The more we learn from Him, the more consistently we experience far more life.

King David describes resting in God this way:

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure…
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:8-11, NIV)

If you have never tried resting in Jesus, try an experiment. Go to Jesus. Give Him your burdens. Agree to learn from Him. I suggest you read the Gospel of John in the New Testament, one chapter a day (21 days). Each day ask yourself, “What can I learn from Jesus?” and write down a thought or verse you find meaningful. When you are done, evaluate whether resting in Jesus brought you far more life.

If you have a relationship with Jesus but have not been resting in Him, start again today. He will not criticize you for pulling away. He is always ready to take your burdens and share the yoke of far more life.

The song quoted above continues with these lyrics that fill my heart with hope:

“I know that You can give me rest.
So I cry out with all that I have left.
Let me see redemption win. Let me know the struggle ends.
That You can mend a heart that’s frail and torn.
I want to know a song can rise from the ashes of a broken life and all that’s dead inside can be reborn.“

Jesus offers restful rest. Test Him out. You may find far more life.

Sisters,
What burdens are you carrying?
Where do you turn for rest? Is it restful?
Are you willing to try resting in Jesus? Why or why not?
Thank Him for giving you His light yoke and teaching you the ways of far more life!
(You are welcome to let me know how your trial period goes — or ask any question — at farmorelife@gmail.com. I am praying for you!)
-Shari

A well-meaning advisor at my high school gifted me a coffee cup depicting one colorful woman amidst a jumbled crowd of outline people. She is holding up a sign that proclaims, “If it’s gonna be it’s up to me!” This message resonated with me. I was proud that my advisor had noticed my dedication to picking up the slack and worked even harder to prove my new life motto true.

In college and early adulthood I enjoyed the doors that opened because I was a dedicated, hard-working perfectionist. But as my life responsibilities increased I didn’t always have enough time and energy to pick up all the slack. The burden I carried started to feel heavy. But I was afraid to find out what would happen if I failed to do it all. (I was once asked in a job interview which was more important: turning in perfect work or meeting a deadline. I was shocked at having to choose. To this day I have no idea if I answered correctly, even though I got the job!) My passion started to wane as my stress climbed, but I kept pressing on. After all, it was up to me to make things happen.

One day a friend directed me to Jesus’ offer of far more life:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NLT)

I was familiar with this passage. It’s likening our life with Jesus to a pair of oxen, joined by a wooden yoke that keeps them close together and working as a single unit.

My friend asked me to describe the yoke I thought God was asking me to wear. I pictured a bulky device that was heavy and uncomfortable. She said she used to think of her yoke like that, too. But now she imagines it being as light as a silk scarf. Those ideas were so far apart that one of us had to be very wrong!

It turns out there are different styles of yokes used for different tasks. But a proper fit is critical; a yoke should never cause discomfort or be too heavy. It should help equally-matched oxen work at full potential without causing any harm. Some yokes allow more freedom of movement; others require the oxen to go exactly where the farmer commands.

God was not asking me to take on a yoke that would add to my load, rather He was offering to ease my load. He was offering far more life. As I wrestled with this new idea, it became clear that “If it’s gonna be it’s up to me!” was an ill-fitting yoke that was adding to my burden. Perhaps it was robbing me of far more life that Jesus offered. Was it really up to me?

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10, NIV)

I had always felt responsibility pile up when I read this verse. I had to finish the jobs on God’s to do list; I was under a deadline and had a lot of work to do. But what if that wasn’t God’s meaning? What if, while there are definitely things that I need to do, ultimately if it’s gonna be it’s up to God? What if I have a role to play in the projects He orchestrates, but HE’S going to make sure it gets done? And what if He knows my limits and ensures that my assigned tasks are not too much? That they strengthen me rather than break me? This new interpretation meant that God had custom-fitted yokes ready for me. He knew exactly what was needed and wanted to equip me to work at my full potential with Him. He was offering me far more life!

I have since realized that when I am stressed, irritable, or apathetic — or if I feel a certain heaviness in my chest — I am struggling under that old yoke again. At those times I need to follow the instructions in Matthew and go to Him, rest in Him. I need to ask, “What am I taking on that is not my burden to carry?” and then analyze my life to figure out which commitments or responsibilities (or even mental pressures) are weighing me down. When I release those and join God in the yoke He custom-designed for me, the work becomes rewarding again. I feel my passion return. And I experience far more life!

Sisters,
I promised that on this journey to far more life you would lose some baggage.
Have you, too, fallen for the lie “if it’s gonna be it’s up to me”?
Are you carrying too much?
Is your passion drowning under the weight of your yoke?
If so, go to God.
Rest in Him.
Lay down your ill-fitted yoke and join Him in the one He custom-fit to you.
Take a step away from a burdened life.
And a step toward far more life.
-Shari

Copyright 2019-20, Shari Damaso
Note: I gave away my mug a few years ago. I found this photo at an on-line auction site.

Tag: burden

Restful Rest

It’s Not Really Up To Me