Dear Friends of “Dial Daily Bread,”
Do you feel harassed and burdened with all the things you have to do? You may be young enough to carry on without collapsing, and you may feel that you simply must have a pill now and then or you can't get through the day. And yes, you do try to squeeze in some Bible reading or something from "the Lord's messenger," but then, the more you read the more guilty you feel for not getting everything done that is "duty."
Well, here's a little tidbit from the Lord Jesus Himself that's different: "To you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, ... who have not known the depths of Satan, ... I will put on you no other burden" (Rev. 2:24). This shows that the Lord Jesus knows what it's like to be human and heavily laden.
The particular context in “Thyatira” that called forth this compassionate little remark is not fully understood, but you have the full right to think of Jesus as being sympathetic to you. You may have thought of the Holy Spirit as constantly convicting you of sin (John 16:8--that's true, but it's also "comfort," John 14:16, King James Version), prodding you always to work harder, to do more, to pray more, to study your Bible more, to pay more tithe, give more offerings, go on more missionary journeys, get up earlier, diet more, and you feel exhausted spiritually as well as physically. Is it the Lord's will for you?
Stop and think a moment: the Lord Jesus promises He will put a limit on the "burdens"He will lay upon you. He even insists that His "burden is light." And the closer you let Him get to you, His yoke becomes more "easy" (Matt. 11:28-30).
Your lifelong entanglement with a works program may incline you to think this is heresy; but it's a side of Jesus you need to realize. He's your Lord, yes; but He's also your Friend.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 19, 2005.
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