by Kevin Burton
If you’re in despair and you need an answer right now, something real to grab hold of, take your troubles to the living God of the universe.
This is the sound advice from a message by the late Dr. Charles Stanley, founder of In Touch Ministries. With a sincere heart, follow the steps outlined by Stanley, and watch God work.
You don’t need to have things figured out before you go to Him, and you never have to carry your burdens alone, In Touch writes.
No matter how heavy our situation, it can’t disqualify us from God’s love or care. In fact, it’s precisely in these moments that the precious quality of His invitation becomes most clear.
“When your heart feels heavy, your body grows weary, and your emotions leave you utterly drained—where do you turn?” Stanley wrote. “All of us will experience seasons like this, when we feel hopeless, helpless, and deeply discouraged. These are moments when we wonder how much more we can take. I’ve been there, and probably you have, too.”
“My friend, at such times, don’t give up. God has a clear and practical answer, no matter what the trouble may be.”
“Jesus, the Son of God and sovereign of this universe, said, ‘Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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’ (Matt. 11:28-30).”
“You may think you’ve tried to rely on these words before and were left as troubled as ever,” Stanley wrote. “But God doesn’t offer solutions that don’t work. So how do we take our deepest burdens to the Lord and find the relief we so desperately need?
First, accept the invitation.
“Jesus says, ‘Come to Me’ (v. 28).”
“Tell Him in prayer about your burden: ‘Lord, here’s how I’m hurting. Here’s the reason I feel so weighed down.’ It doesn’t matter what the problem is. If you’re emotionally drained, weary, sorrowful, angry, or weighed down by sin, Jesus is ‘gentle and humble in heart’ and He will receive you with kindness (v. 29).”
Second, give Him your burden.
“Acknowledge that you can’t handle the problem, and you’re turning it over to Him. Now, we often think we’ve done this, but we just pick the burden right back up again. We might do this a thousand times yet still hold on. If this is happening, it’s because we remain focused on the burden and not on Jesus.”
“Examine your prayers: How much time do you spend expressing your despair versus praising God for His power, faithfulness, and love? Then change your focus—from the burden to the burden-bearer.”
“God placed reminders throughout His Word to help us with this surrender:
He wants to handle our burdens (1 Pet. 5:6-7).
He will sustain us through them (Ps. 55:22).
He does not disappear on us but continues His aid daily (Ps. 68:19).
Keep recalling such verses until you believe you can cast “all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you” (1 Pet. 5:7).”
Third, follow Him earnestly.
“Take My yoke upon you” (Matt. 11:29).
“Jesus doesn’t remove all yokes; He exchanges our burdensome one for His ‘easy’ one (v. 30).”
“And His yoke is simply this: that we submit to Him and walk in obedience—out of gratitude and joy, enabled by the Holy Spirit. Bringing a dire situation to the Lord doesn’t always mean it will disappear.”
“He says, ‘learn from Me’ (v. 29); sometimes He will teach us how to live in the burden without being worn down by it.”
Finally, what can we expect?
“When we do all this, we’ll ‘find rest for [our] souls’ (v. 29).”
“With His yoke, what we’re walking through will begin to feel comfortable because His burden is light (v. 30).”
“Soon we’ll be able to walk with a sense of confidence that God is in control,” Stanley wrote, “knowing that He’ll work out the circumstances in His time and in His perfect way.”
“No matter what you’re facing, or how long you’ve faced it, no matter how heavy it is and how awful it makes you feel—Jesus is sufficient and adequate to sustain you, strengthen you, and to remove that awful weight from your shoulders. That’s His promise.”
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