"Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, andI will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and you shall find rest unto your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29)
This is the invitation of Christ, the world's Redeemer, to all those "that labor and are heavy laden" in the journey of life. It is the invitation of Him who "has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;" (Isaiah 53:4) of Him who is "touched with the feeling of our infirmities; [who has been] in all points tempted like as we are." (Hebrews 4:15)
He knows fully the nature of the responsibility He is assuming; and He is fully able to assume it, for He has said, "All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth." (Matthew 28:18)
It is a very easy thing to cast our cares and our sorrows upon Him who has thus made himself the great Burden Bearer of the race, yet how few seem inclined to avail themselves of the privilege. He does not force us to give Him our burdens; we can't carry them ourselves if we choose to. But He stands ready to take freely every load that is laid at His feet.
Yet it is almost always the case that we take our burdens to our earthly friends, instead of to the Lord. We go to them for their sympathy--which perhaps they are not slow to give--and we talk over our troubles with them, and get such satisfaction from it as we can; but ah, who ever knew their burden of tears and grief to get any lighter by this process? Who ever found that it did not, on the contrary, make it even heavier than before? And besides this, it has added to the load of others who already have burdens enough of their own.
But when we come to Jesus with our load, what a difference! When we have told Him all our sorrows, how much lighter the burden all at once becomes! and we experience the rest that He promised to the weary and heavy-laden.
But let no one burden themselves with borrowed troubles, for all these they will have to carry alone. Jesus has not offered to take upon himself our imaginary troubles, but only those which are real. He has said, "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6:34)
To borrow trouble is to distrust God. Our blessings are not sent to us weekly or monthly, but "daily"; as He has taught us to say, "Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11)
Thus there is no occasion to burden ourselves with the imaginary troubles, which are usually the hardest to bear.--Present Truth, August 24, 1893--Timeline: IV-32 (Jesus' Eulogy of John)--Matthew 11:28-29.