The Heavy Pile
Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7.
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. – Matthew 11:28-30.
I do love books but maybe not as much as a teacher in Croatia. DK is a 60-year-old math teacher living in Zagreb. DK’s wife had been in the hospital, and she became concerned that he had not been to visit her in three days. She called their neighbors who then heard “muffled groans” coming from the apartment. The police found DK trapped under a pile of books in his bedroom. Which makes one wonder how many books it took to trap him?
Most likely you are not trapped under a pile of books and never will be, but it may be that something else has you trapped. Are you trapped under a pile of problems? Worries? Concerns? Anxieties? Pain? Heartache? Have your burdens slowed your life to a standstill? Are you having more and more difficulty just taking care of the normal daily routines of life? It may be that you have been trapped under a pile of life’s burdens.
Notice when Jesus says for those who are heavy ladened to come to Him that he does not condemn them. He also does not offer a lecture about how foolish it was for them to become so burdened. What Jesus does is offer relief. He offers to lighten your load and it is free! There are no strings except that of having Jesus as a traveling companion along life’s road. Without Jesus there can be no relief but with Him the burden is transferred to Him. Why would Jesus be willing to do this? Because as the apostle Peter notes “He cares for you.” You may have never cared for God but He still “cares for you.”
Is the pile of worries and problems growing larger and larger and more and more likely to fall? Has the pile of worries and problems fallen on you and the weight is pressing you further and further down? Call to Jesus and ask Him to lighten your load. Cast your cares and burdens upon Him and He will give you rest.
(The only place to really find rest from the burdens of this world is in the arms of Jesus.)