Simply stop striving, lay down your burdens at the feet of Jesus, and follow God. Find rest for your soul because God’s yoke is easy, and His burden is light.

Friend,

I need to admit something to you. I naturally strive and work hard and attempt to make it happen all by myself. I always thought it was like this excellent attribute.  I simply put my head down and would just work hard. And I thought my good work ethic and striving to pursue the next venture simply was dependent on my hard work.

While hard work is good. Over the years, I've just learned striving continually has worn me down. Like, being weary and feeling burdened, isn't of the Lord. This weight I placed on my own shoulders has actually held me back from what God has for my life. I wasn't giving my burdens to God and wasn't letting him lead the way.

So here's what changed everything for me. The next time you feel weary, or burdened or tired or worn out, I want you to read Matthew 11 versus 28 to 30. And I want to read it for you. It says, 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'm humble and gentle at heart, and you'll find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light. I'd never really understood what this scripture meant. So let me help you. I want you to visualize this back in the day when a team of oxen pulled a plow in the field and older, more stable ox would be matched with a younger inexperienced ox. The experience ox is given a close fitting yoke while the younger ox is given a loose fitting yoke. This was designed to prevent the younger ox from feeling the burden of the yoke. The younger ox was learning what it is to walk alongside a wise old ox as they pull the plow together. So just like the younger ox, we're always the ones learning what it is to walk alongside our wise counsel or the Lord. A yoke guides us and God is the older ox and he wants to teach us to walk alongside him.

Okay, here's the deal. Here's what I had to learn. If you can feel the burdens in your life, you are in the lead, not God. If you're attempting to take the lead, it's when you feel the weight on your shoulders. This is what I had to learn. We are not to be in front of him. He is the old Ys ox, right?

We are not to be striving all along the way. Doesn't it sound so much easier to just follow along with him instead of pushing your way forward. Here's what I would love for you to learn today. From my experiences, simply stop striving lay down your burdens at the feet of Jesus and follow God.

Find rest for your soul because God's yoke is easy and His burden is light

- Alita