My Inbox of Daily Inspirations: Daily Heartlight -- February 8, 2008

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February 8, 2008

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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================

Lay Your Burden Down, by Alan Smith

On August 15, 1930, a New York State Supreme Court Justice named Joseph
Carter hailed a cab and was never seen or heard from again. The FBI
thought his disappearance might be related to his work as a judge
because of mob cases heard before his court. But since there was no
hard evidence to support this theory, the case remains open to this
day. All the work led investigators to a dead end. The only clue was a
note Joseph Carter left for his wife, which said: "I am very, very
tired. Love, Joe." That was it, no one ever heard from him.

I can't help but feel that there are a lot of us who feel the same way.
And Jesus has something to say to the person who is exhausted, worn
out, frustrated, and weary. Jesus invited us to accept his offer of
rest.

"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" (Matthew
11:28-29).

While we are looking forward to the rest that awaits us in heaven, I
don't think Jesus is talking about heaven in this situation (Matthew 11).
I think he's offering rest for our souls here and now. Somebody to help
carry our burden.

The apostle Paul would later say, "Bear one another's burdens" (Galatians
6:2). We can do that for one another. There have been some times in my
life when I've gone through some things that I just don't think I could
have handled if I didn't have brothers and sisters in Christ to be
there for me. But what we do for one another in a small way, Christ
does for us to a much greater measure.

That was a wonderful feeling!

Whatever burden you are carrying right now, Christ says he'll be there
for you. Whether it's problems in your marriage or your children are in
trouble at school or with the law. Maybe it's burdens of loneliness,
burdens of taking care of sick relatives, burdens of disappointment, or
burdens of rejection, or the oppressive burdens of addictions. Maybe
it's the burden of not knowing which way to turn next. Life is filled
with stress, with cares, and with worries.

The reality is that life can be very difficult, but these are the very
kinds of burdens that Jesus wants us to bring to him. Jesus is saying,
"Come to me all you who are struggling with life in any way, and those
of you who have burdens that you can't carry alone, and I will help you
with your struggles."

Do you remember the last time you made a trip to the airport with all
your luggage? A couple of years ago, we took our daughter to the
airport. She had absolutely crammed her suitcases as full as she could
get them because she was moving to Germany. One of them weighed 65
pounds and the other one weighed 83 pounds. Fortunately they had the
little wheels on them because I can't imagine what it would have been
like if we had to lug those things all over the airport trying to find
the right ticket counter. And, I want to tell you, when the ticket
agent took those suitcases from us and we didn't have to carry them
around anymore, that was a wonderful feeling. No more burden.

That's what Jesus does for us. Jesus is always on the lookout for
hurting people. People who are bold enough to admit, "Lord, I need some
help. I can't carry these problems alone." And he's promised to do it.
He said, "Come to me ... and I will give you rest."

---------
(c) 2008 Alan Smith <alansmith.servant@gmail.com>. Used by
permission. This devotional was reprinted from Thought for the
Day <http://www.TFTD-online.com>.

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Daily Heartlight -- February 8, 2008