I live in a mobile home and the previous owner installed ceramic tile. Ceramic tile is nice flooring for New Mexico desert homes. Homes with a permanent foundation. It is not the appropriate flooring for a mobile home. It is too heavy and can warp the foundation over time, causing it bow from the strain of the weight.
This has got me thinking about the burdens that we carry in life. We too, can begin to be weighted down from them. We were never meant to carry them. In fact, Jesus tells us to give him our burdens. "Are you tired, worn out, burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me. Work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rythms of grace. I wont lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly . (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG)
"Come to me." This is as simple (and as hard) as saying 'here I am Jesus, I lay down my life for you. Come in to my heart and make me whole. Show me how to live according to your ways and not mine.'
"You'll recover your life." The dictionary definition of recover is "return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength. I don't know about you, but before Jesus there was nothing normal about my mind. 20 years ago I was addicted to meth, living in a vehicle that I stole from my brother and writing checks on a closed account. Jesus intervened and I was arrested on multiple charges. Instead of going to prison, I was able to go to a Christian Recovery home for women. It was then that my process of recovery began.
Recovery is a process - it does not happen in an instant. It is a daily choice. Learning to walk with Jesus is just that - learning. How do we do this? We start by going to church and getting involved in a community of other believers, people who love Jesus and are not perfect and are trying daily to be better than the day before. We read our Bible, you can even download a free YouVersion Bible app and it will read the Bible to you.
"I won't lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you." When we surrender to Jesus, he strips away the old. He shatters the hard pieces. They are too heavy for us. They don't serve a purpose. They are cold, hard, and will cut you if you are not careful. My old life did not fit me. It was too heavy a burden for me to carry. The shame was too much. When I fully surrendered to Jesus, he took the garment of shame from me. It wasn't mine to carry anymore.
"You'll learn to live freely." Once the hard shell is removed, Jesus is not done. This is when the true healing can take place. Your heart is fully exposed to Jesus and he can begin to heal you. Recently, I attended a conference and had a Holy Spirit encounter that was the most beautiful and transformative experience I have ever had. The healing I experienced deep within my soul was more beneficial than all the years of therapy. Therapy is necessary, don't get me wrong. But Jesus. Only Jesus can enter into the root to heal and transform. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26)
Once you have been healed, then Jesus can begin to put on your new garments, your garments of praise instead of a faint spirit. Jesus will give you the oil of gladness instead of mourning. (Isaiah 61:3 ESV)
Comments