Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

Isaiah 10:27 says, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.”

In this passage of scripture, Jesus Christ gave an open invitation to accept Him as LORD and Savior over their lives. He was willing to accept all of those who had “labored” and were “heavy laden.” What this relates to is very interesting. Of course, we know that labor refers to people who have worked tremendously, whether that be physically or spiritually. According to Thayer’s Greek Definitions, “heavy laden” means “to load one with a burden (of rites and unwarranted precepts).” A vast number of people in this day and age were heavy laden by the religious sects of their day, such as the Pharisees and doctors of the law. They tried to measure up their lives to their standard rather than God’s because these religious fanatics had integrated more laws than what the Levitical law had ever stated. These Pharisees walked around with such self righteous pride that they thought they were the “top of the food chain” so to speak, but when Jesus came by, He offered freedom from these grievous burdens that had been placed upon them. He gave them an opportunity to find salvation not based on merely works, but mainly faith that is demonstrated by works. Luke 11:46 says, “And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers.” Yokes can be seen as any burden that someone puts upon you, just like someone may put a load upon a horse or a camel. It dehumanizes the value of that person! Religious folks who obtain no personal relationship with God burden people with yokes, refusing to even lift a finger to help, but Jesus Christ is the yoke destroyer because of the anointing upon Him. If you go to Him, He will set you free!

When we are carrying burdens, we are to never forget that God is a burden bearer. That is why we are to cast them upon the LORD, for 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” As a result of His care for us, we can find rest in His grace, love and mercy. So many people spend restless and sleepless nights with such a heavy load upon their minds, and I believe everyone can honestly say that is not God’s will. God can only give us rest and peace when we choose to cast our cares upon Him and leave it in His hands, allowing Him to work it out! We must stop acting so independently and fighting our spiritual battles on our own, but rather depend upon the LORD, for He is a present help in the time of trouble!

Once Christ frees us from the yoke upon our necks, we have a choice to make. We can leave that burden down, never picking it up again, or we can choose to be burdened with it again, becoming harder and harder day by day. Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” When we come in connection with Christ, He frees us of our heavy burdens, but we are to not be entangled again the web of bondage and destruction, but we are to stand strong in His liberty! Do not go back, but only move forward in the purpose that He has for your life.

As Christians, we are to help carry one another’s burdens. Galatians 6:2, 5 says, “2Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ…5For every man shall bear his own burden.” We are called as brothers and sisters in the LORD to help carry each other’s burdens, knowing that we are to help each other, but we are to never forget the responsibilities we have to endure in our daily life.

Not only are we to help carry each other’s burdens, but we are to also carry Christ’s burdens. Verse 29 is a verse that many in the church overlook, or simply ignore. Jesus instructs that we are to take His yoke upon and learn from Him as His disciples, denying ourselves, taking up our cross and following Him (Matthew 16:24). Even in bearing His yoke, we will find peace and rest for our souls because we are aware of spiritually the rewards that come with it. It may be a yoke for some to deny their fleshly lusts and sin, but it will result in rest, for Jesus is meek and lowly in heart. He will never allow us to face temptations above what we are capable of facing, but He will always make a way of escape, giving us strength to overcome evil with good! His yoke is easy, and He burden is light. We are capable of handling it. We simply just need to make the choice to carry it! It would be much better to carry Christ’s burden than the yoke of sin!