“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
Jesus gives us a great reason to follow him. He is God in human flesh, yet he invites us to simply come to him and rest. Life can be like a tug of war with an opponent who is bigger and stronger than we are. Who is that opponent? You make your own! It can be sin, the enemy, troubles in life or anything that takes your eyes off of God. As we we pull the rope, we slip and slide closer and closer to the pit. Imagine this pit being our separation from God, the place the enemy wants us to remain forever, the ultimate loss, in any real tug of war.
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 NIV
We grip the rope tighter, wrapping it around our forearm, and pulling with all of our might while digging our heels into the ground. All the while our opponent pulls us steadily toward our demise. Life feels like this at times, doesn’t it? We struggle to pull back from the forces of our opponent, and feel ourselves getting closer and closer to that dark pit.
It is written;
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4 NIV
God always reminds us that he is our strength, and that turning to him and away from our opponent is much easier than we may think.
It is now we must remember that maybe, just maybe, as we are about to fall into the opponents “pit” and the struggle is virtually over we have a choice. We can pull harder or….LET GO OF THE ROPE!
Is it not easier to simply let go of the rope, than to fall into demise? Think about it. Why do we pull harder and harder while continuing to lose ground when we could just let go?
It is certainly easier from our Lords perspective, as it is written:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV
While the road to him is narrow, he allows us the option to struggle with the enemy or to let go of those things that will pull us into the “pit.” His mercy allows us to make this decision every day.
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV
Can we believe the answer is to simply let go?
Pray on it daily.
Remember to be kind to one another.
Barnabas
Special thanks to Barnabas for this guest submission.