“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28-30
What an extraordinary invitation the Lord Jesus offers us. It is not limited to a certain number of people or to a certain social class; it is an open invitation. What could possibly be the ticket to enter? Your own burden may be very heavy. Your afflictions may also be weighty. How much would it cost you to get rid of them? Absolutely nothing, because the remedy is free. So, what is the recommended course of action? It is to leave all your burdens at the Cross and instead accept Jesus’ burden which is as light as a feather. In fact, it is so light that you won’t even notice that you are carrying it.
After Jesus finished delivering the Sermon on the Mount, a lot of people followed him down the mountain. Someone, who was not only burdened, but also afflicted, oppressed and without any hope for his life, approached Jesus. This man, who was a leper, had lived years and years isolated from society. He had no friends or, family and was without financial resources. Every morning he saw how his sickness was devouring part of his skin and there was no one to help him. This man, whose life had become a burden to him, in a valiant act decided to seek Jesus. For him, it was as if he had heard an invitation from the Lord. He saw the chance to get near to Jesus to receive the solution for his problems. He fell before Jesus, and said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean” (Matthew 8:2). For a few moments the multitude was paralyzed, wondering what Jesus would do. The Law dictated that whoever touched a leper was unclean. But Jesus accepted the burden of this man, and extending His hand to touch the leper and said, “ ‘I am willing,’ he said, ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cured of his leprosy” (Matthew 8:3).
Any one who came to Jesus with an affliction got an immediate answer. The woman who had been bleeding for twelve years was able to fight her way into the middle of the crowd to get to Jesus. Without asking anything from the Lord, she touched the hem of His garment and received healing. Blind Bartimeus did not pay attention to the negative comments of those who tried to discourage him from being so loud. Finally, when Jesus heard him, He called for him to come forward and He healed him. The sinful woman that dared to go to Simon the Pharisee’s house, despite not being invited, was able to leave all her burdens at the feet of Jesus and received complete salvation.
The Christian life is all about a relationship. Jesus’ invites us to get rid of our burdens and not try to fix them on our own. However, we must learn to rest in Him, because God’s ideas are always better than ours. Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord said, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
George Friedrich Händel, the great German composer had come to a terrible moment in his life where everything seemed hopeless. Nobody liked his musical compositions anymore. One night, he was extremely discouraged and went home obsessed with only one idea: to rest, sleep, and forget about everything. One by one, he climbed the stairs up to his humble study and slowly lit the candles at his working-table. As he looked down, he frowned finding a package resting there on top of his desk. He wondered what could be inside it? He opened it and when he saw the word “Oratorio,” on it, he put it to one side. He assumed that someone was making fun of him; all of his last efforts to compose oratorios had been a failure.
He went to bed, but could not fall asleep; he felt a great uneasiness in his chest. Finally, he got up and again lit the candles, picked up the manuscript and read its title, “The Messiah.” Next to that word was the word, “Comfort.” This caught his attention. The words were the first of a poem; a heavenly challenge to the discouragement of the composer. Right after reading the first words, it was like the words began to change into musical language. It extended upward and lifted up a triumphant sound toward heaven. He took his Bible and began reading the prophecies regarding the promised Messiah, from His birth up to His ascension to the Father. Heavenly fire began burning inside of him. Tears started running down his face. Then he picked up a pen and began to translate what he was feeling into the music that resonated from his mind and heart.
Day and night he was immersed in his task, living and breathing an environment of rhythm and tone.
Finally, after twenty-four days, a miracle had happened in the musical world. The oratorio was finished. The pen fell to the ground and Händel slept for seventeen hours. Later, he got up to play the music on his clavichord. He played with overflowing joy the last part of his piece. When he finished it a friend told him, “Never in my life have I listened to something like this!” Händel answered with his head bowed, “God visited me.”
When God visits a person it surely changes their life!”
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“God took my burden and my affliction, my anguish and my worries, in order to give me His permanent blessing.”
Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume Four.
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
Our Bible Reading Plan gives 25 daily readings per month. There is no scheduled reading for today. You can use this time to catch up on any readings you may have missed, or read through previous passages again.
