Let Go, Let God
Matthew 11:28-30
In his prayer
for Sunday morning (A Diary of Private
Prayer), John Baillie writes, “May Jesus Christ…be in me and I in Him, even
as Thou wert in Him and through Him mayest be in me and I at rest in
Thee.” There’s something about Baillie’s
biblical English that gives greater dignity to his prayers. Even though we no longer use words like
“wert,” and “mayest” (to say nothing of “thou” and “thee”), in this setting the
language sounds right.
Most of us lead hectic lives. Between work and home, school and social
life, high-speed traffic on our highways and on the internet, we run ourselves
ragged. Many nights we fall into bed for
an all-too short rest with our cares and concerns weighing on us so heavily
that sleep is impossible. We can’t stop
reviewing the past day and planning the next one long enough to get even a few
hours uninterrupted respite. How can we
not worry, with health concerns, relationship concerns, business concerns,
money concerns—more concerns than we can list?
Children and parents, spouses and friends, bosses and co-workers—all those
we know and are supposed to love drive us crazy by adding their cares and
concerns to our own. Life can be
overwhelming, with escape options limited and growing fewer.
Then we hear Jesus say, “Come unto me, all who labor and
are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
If only we could! If only we
could give God all our cares, our worries, our concerns—just toss them at him
and walk away. Wouldn’t that be
wonderful!
The first problem is that, because of our broken and
sinful natures, we have difficulty accepting this promise. We may tell our troubles to God, but we won’t
give them up. Peter reminds us (1 Peter
5:7) that we should trust God completely, casting all our anxieties upon God
“because he cares for you.” That sounds
wonderful, but seems impossible. We don’t
seem to be able to turn everything over to God.
How can we forget all those people, situations and conditions that
trouble us? How can we just stop being
anxious about—everything?
The answer, of course, is faith. In another prayer Baillie asks that “the
Christian graces of faith, hope, and [love] be every day more firmly
established in me.” Near the end of that
prayer he asks, “Help Thou mine unbelief,” understanding that faith doesn’t
come easily. Perhaps if we prayed for
greater faith at the same time we asked for a release from worries we’d get
farther in both our spiritual growth and our freedom from cares.
The second problem is that we can’t just toss our cares
on God and walk away. Walking away is
not an option. Jesus doesn’t say, “Come
unto me, and I will give you rest, and you can go on your way worry free.” No, he says, “Take my yoke upon you, and
learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls.”
That’s the part we don’t want to hear. It’s the yoke thing that we don’t like. Jesus is willing to take our cares, but in
return we take his yoke. Even if his
“yoke is easy and his burden is light,” we don’t want to give up our freedom to
anyone. We want to be free to be who and
what we want to be, even if that freedom comes at the cost of bearing our
anxieties alone.
The third problem is that those people, conditions and
situations that cause us so much trouble don’t go away. They don’t disappear, nor are they magically transformed. We have to deal with the same troublesome
people, the same worrying conditions, the same upsetting situations as
before. The difference is that we no
longer have to do it alone. We have
someone to share our troubles with.
That’s what that yoke is all about.
God doesn’t promise us peaceful lives. God promises us peaceful hearts and minds.
Matthew 11:28-30
In his prayer
for Sunday morning (A Diary of Private
Prayer), John Baillie writes, “May Jesus Christ…be in me and I in Him, even
as Thou wert in Him and through Him mayest be in me and I at rest in
Thee.” There’s something about Baillie’s
biblical English that gives greater dignity to his prayers. Even though we no longer use words like
“wert,” and “mayest” (to say nothing of “thou” and “thee”), in this setting the
language sounds right.
Most of us lead hectic lives. Between work and home, school and social
life, high-speed traffic on our highways and on the internet, we run ourselves
ragged. Many nights we fall into bed for
an all-too short rest with our cares and concerns weighing on us so heavily
that sleep is impossible. We can’t stop
reviewing the past day and planning the next one long enough to get even a few
hours uninterrupted respite. How can we
not worry, with health concerns, relationship concerns, business concerns,
money concerns—more concerns than we can list?
Children and parents, spouses and friends, bosses and co-workers—all those
we know and are supposed to love drive us crazy by adding their cares and
concerns to our own. Life can be
overwhelming, with escape options limited and growing fewer.
Then we hear Jesus say, “Come unto me, all who labor and
are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
If only we could! If only we
could give God all our cares, our worries, our concerns—just toss them at him
and walk away. Wouldn’t that be
wonderful!
The first problem is that, because of our broken and
sinful natures, we have difficulty accepting this promise. We may tell our troubles to God, but we won’t
give them up. Peter reminds us (1 Peter
5:7) that we should trust God completely, casting all our anxieties upon God
“because he cares for you.” That sounds
wonderful, but seems impossible. We don’t
seem to be able to turn everything over to God.
How can we forget all those people, situations and conditions that
trouble us? How can we just stop being
anxious about—everything?
The answer, of course, is faith. In another prayer Baillie asks that “the
Christian graces of faith, hope, and [love] be every day more firmly
established in me.” Near the end of that
prayer he asks, “Help Thou mine unbelief,” understanding that faith doesn’t
come easily. Perhaps if we prayed for
greater faith at the same time we asked for a release from worries we’d get
farther in both our spiritual growth and our freedom from cares.
The second problem is that we can’t just toss our cares
on God and walk away. Walking away is
not an option. Jesus doesn’t say, “Come
unto me, and I will give you rest, and you can go on your way worry free.” No, he says, “Take my yoke upon you, and
learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls.”
That’s the part we don’t want to hear. It’s the yoke thing that we don’t like. Jesus is willing to take our cares, but in
return we take his yoke. Even if his
“yoke is easy and his burden is light,” we don’t want to give up our freedom to
anyone. We want to be free to be who and
what we want to be, even if that freedom comes at the cost of bearing our
anxieties alone.
The third problem is that those people, conditions and
situations that cause us so much trouble don’t go away. They don’t disappear, nor are they magically transformed. We have to deal with the same troublesome
people, the same worrying conditions, the same upsetting situations as
before. The difference is that we no
longer have to do it alone. We have
someone to share our troubles with.
That’s what that yoke is all about.
God doesn’t promise us peaceful lives. God promises us peaceful hearts and minds.
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