Burdens

In the old spiritual, "Down By The Riverside," the author speaks of the time he will pick up his robe and crown, of a day when he will study war no more - a distance place and time when he will lay down his burdens.  He speaks of Heaven, where our yoke is broken and our struggles are left far behind.

But why not now?  Shouldn't we lay them down now and live burden free?  Isn't the call of Jesus for us to come to him so that he can lift our burdens, so we can experience "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding..."(Phil 4:7)?  Yeah, no!

We are called to experience the peace of God but not in the absence of burdens, rather in the middle of them.  Far from suggesting that we should be looking for a burden-free life, the apostle Paul says, "each one should carry his own load" (Gal 6:5), unless the load is too much for one, in which case we are to "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (v. 2).

The will of God is not that we live a life free of challenges but that we freely face the challenges of life, trusting in Him and leaning on each other.  He calls us to a victorious life of overcomers as opposed to a life of overcome victims.  The burdens we face ought not inspire pause as we consider how awful they are but to inspire peace as we consider how awesome God is!

Jesus doesn't call us to peace by casting off our yokes and walking away from the burdens of the day, but to "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me...and you will find rest for your souls" (Matt 11:29).  Our rest, our peace, our victory is found as we squarely face our burdens trusting God will provide, knowing that he is always near, that he "will never leave [us] as orphans" (Jn 14:18).  Jus' Say'n.