Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For My Yoke is easy and my burden is light.     Matthew 28:11 NKJV

The first time I came to Christ, I was 12 years old. I had been raised in church. I had attended a Christian school. I was living a sheltered life. I loved the Lord and obeyed Him through my teenage years. But when I got out “into the world” in college and work I began to backslide. I did this back-and-forth thing for a number of years.

Church has always been an important part of my life. But for many years it was not a priority. During these years the devil stepped in and began to have his way with me. He convinced me that due to some hard situations I had faced, God would overlook the sin that brought me pleasure. I believed his lies for a little while.

But then that pleasure turned to pain. It became a heavy burden to bear. I made church a priority again, but I held on to my sin like it was some sort of life preserver. Or at least that’s what the devil was telling me. The truth is that sin was what was drowning me. As I continued to stay in church and study God’s word and pray, I began to realize the devil had been lying all along.

That’s just what he does. He lies. We are told in John 8:44 that the devil was a murderer from the beginning and has not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of liars. But yet time after time we believe his lies.

Once we are caught up in the web the devil spins for us, it’s hard to step out. It’s hard to take that first step. But if you read our Scripture passage Jesus is telling us we only have one thing we need to do, come to Him. James 4:8 tells us to draw near to God and He will draw near to us.

Jesus tells us to come to Him and He will do the rest. He will give us rest. He will make our yoke easy. He will make our burden light. We only need to come to Him.

Jesus encourages us to take up His yoke and learn from Him. When we study the Bible, we learn from Jesus. We learn of the life He lived and the words He said. We learn that He was present from the beginning of creation. Once we understand who Jesus is, we can’t help but love Him. When we truly love Him, it becomes easier to obey Him. We come to understand He only wants the best for us.

If you are weighed down by sin, come to Jesus. He will take the heavy load. He will give you rest. Learn about Him and how much He loves you. Take up His yoke because it is easy. Give your burden to Him and take His burden because it is light.

Maybe you are in that honeymoon phase with your sin where it is fun and exciting. Know that it won’t be for long. It will soon burden you and drag you down. Maybe you are already to that point with your sin. Whatever stage you are in, know that Jesus could come back for us at any time. Take that first step today. Come to Him. He is waiting for you. He wants to give your soul rest.

Have a great day!