Meeting to Chat

Matthew 11:28-30

Verse 28  Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

    There is nothing like meeting a friend for coffee.  These meetings are great times of communication.  Our key verse is a beautiful invitation from Jesus for us to come to Him.  An invitation to be close to Him.  And in this instance it is an invitation to come and unload the cares of our hearts.

    Each of us has times in our lives when we are feeling like we have the weight of the world on our shoulders.  Today’s key verse reminds us that Jesus says we don’t have to bear these burdens by ourselves.  Just as having a conversation with a friend, when our hearts and minds are troubled, can ease our minds, Jesus invites us to come and tell Him what is going on in our lives that seems to be more than we can bear.  Peter tells us to cast all our worries on God because He cares about us (1 Peter 5:7).  That is the same reason we dump our concerns on our friend over coffee, isn’t it?  We know they care and so we know they will listen.

    But what does casting our cares upon Christ look like?  To begin with we must come close to Him.  This is one of the first keys to prayer for us to use as we seek a deeper and more intentional prayer life.  Just as a time of good conversation with a friend is best had at a small table for a more intimate conversation, a chat with Jesus about our problems is best had when we come to a one on one conversation with Him in a place where we can focus on Him and listen for Him to work in our heart as He takes our cares from us.

    One of the things that we may do in a conversation with a friend when unloading our cares on them is to give them all the details that seem relevant to us.  We are to do the same when laying our burdens at the feet of the Lord.  He doesn’t want us to just say that we are having issues that we hope He will help us with.  No, He wants us to share our hearts with Him and that means sharing all the pain and the ways that we are hurt or burdened.  He wants us to share with Him the thoughts we are having about the weight we are giving over.

    Part of our coming close then is to come to trust Him enough to share our cares.  We don’t call a stranger to meet us for coffee, we call someone whom we feel we can confide in.  Someone with whom our cares will be kept.  This trust is key in being able to unload our cares and so it is with prayer.  We need to trust Him.  He wants us to trust Him.

Making It Personal

    What is your level of trust of the Lord?  Do you trust Him enough to give Him your troubles?  What burden do you need to cast on His shoulders today to free yourself from the weight of life?

Making It Personal Kids

    What is a burden?  Did you know that Jesus wants to help you carry your burdens?  What can you pray to Jesus about right now?

Closing Prayer

    Father, thank You for caring about what is bothering us.  Help us learn to trust You so that we can cast all our cares on You.  In Jesus’ name, amen.