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, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light."  ~Matthew 11:28-29

It’s always tough going to the gym sometimes.  Actually, I think the toughest part is trying to get your lazy butt over there, but once you’re there, it’s easy.  Sure, it’s a lot of work and you get pretty tired, but it’s a good kind of tired.  You feel good about yourself because you know that you’re keeping yourself in shape and it’s worth it. You feel good knowing that the extra muscle you put on and the fat you burned off will pay off in the summer time when you can show it off in a bathing suit.  Yup, that’s a feel good kind of tired.

But, we also have that kind of tired that brings us down a bit…it’s the kind of tired that leads to weariness, exhaustion, and fatigue.  Some of this could be caused by too much work, too much stress, or just plain too much crap on your mind.  Sometimes they’re decisions in our lives that are big ones…ones that may have a huge impact in our lives.  We can go one direction that may lead to happiness or disappointment, or we can go another direction that might lead to happiness or disappointment.  We may be torn one way or another with these kinds of decisions.  Is God leading me one way, or is it really me leading myself in that direction?  Is this what God would want me to do?  Is it the right thing in my life…or is it the right time in my life?  Like I said…”too much crap on your mind.”  We make ourselves weary just by overanalyzing things…I’m good at that…I’m an engineer.

The dictionary defines weary as “become or make tired or impatient.”  Interesting that impatience can lead to weariness.  Sometimes we want things in our lives now…we can’t wait.  This is likely caused by the world we live in where self gratification now is the key to happiness…why wait…charge it!  The crappy thing about impatience is that it usually leaves you in an unhappy state.  What you thought was good for you at the time probably wasn’t. 

One of my best friends shared an analogy with me a few days ago.  When he was in high school, he wanted this sweet car.  He knew that if he could have it…he could attract more girls, he could go anywhere and do anything he wanted.  It would be freedom for him, solve all his problems, and bring the happiness he was looking for.  But, one day, his dad told him that he should bring it by the auto shop and have the mechanics take a look at it first.  He did.  When the mechanics were done with their inspection, they told him that there were problems with the engine, the transmission, and it was in a wreck in which the body work wasn’t done right.  My buddy was totally disappointed, but he knew that if he would have bought the car without first having the experts take a look at it, he would have had to put more money into it later.  It was good that he took the advice of his dad and listened to him. 

That’s great advice.  Many of us place a burden on ourselves that is much greater than our Heavenly Father would want to take on, but we insist.  Whether it’s because we want something so bad or having to make a tough decision, God tells us to let Him handle it with us.  His burden is light.  He says, “Take my yoke upon you…for my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.”  He wants to help us with our burdens and let Him take it, and instead take the lighter burden He gives us…a burden that does not weigh us down…a burden that we can handle…a burden that gives us rest for our souls.  That burden may be different for each of us depending on what we’re already burdened with, but it’s a burden that we don’t have to worry about or be weary from because He is carrying it with us.  Maybe it’s a burden that really matters because we’re learning phenomenal things from Him.  We just need to realize that He's the expert and He knows what He's doing...listen to Him, trust Him, and let Him love you.  You'll find all the rest you'll need.