My appendix ruptured in the summer following my freshman year of college and my first year in the Army ROTC program. After emergency surgery and a lengthy hospital stay, I received strict guidance to avoid strenuous activity and lifting anything heavy so my abdomen could heal and my body could recover.
As the fall semester neared, my mom accompanied me to pick up the ROTC equipment I had stored over the summer. Schlepping my overloaded rucksack on her back and hauling duffel bags full of gear in both hands, my mom carried what I was too weak and incapable of carrying myself. She painted a perfect picture of what Christ does for us.
Jesus encouraged the weary and burdened to come to Him, and He would give rest. In exchange for casting our burdens on Him, He promises rest for our souls. God wants our anxiety because He cares for us.
Jesus doesn’t want us to live life overly encumbered or weighed down by the worries and burdens of life. Rather, because He loves and cares for us, He invites us to cast our burdens on Him and take up His burden, which is light.
When you feel overloaded with life’s burdens, stresses, and anxieties, offer those burdens to Christ in exchange for a lighter load. Cast your burdens on Him. Trust Him with all that holds you down. He will teach, sustain, and bring you into a deeper place of rest.
Emily Marszalek enjoys the simple pleasures in life in the Pacific Northwest with her husband Nick and their two Goldendoodles, Charlie and Lucy. She loves jigsaw puzzles, animals, rock music, and all flavors of birthday cake.