No Other Burden
by Peter Brokaar
The Church in Thyatira must have been delighted to hear those precious and releasing words ‘I place on you no other burden’. The Lord simply asked of them to hate and reject the evil teaching and influence from Jezebel, and to remain faithful to the truth of Jesus. That’s all. What freedom!
Did you know the Lord isn’t someone who places heavy burdens on us? In fact, the opposite is true. Remember the words of Jesus which have rung powerfully through the ages: ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light’ (Matthew 11:28-30). What a wonderful word this is!
Yet so many of God’s children live under heavy burdens of legalism and religiosity. They are bound, downcast, oppressed, and in no way free. So, if these heavy burdens don’t come from our Lord Jesus, where do they come from? In regard to legalism, the Lord says, ‘That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you’ (Galatians 5:8). Instead, it comes from the enemy. And people who have the same attitude as the Pharisees love to place heavy burdens on people whom the Lord has set free. Jesus rebuked them sternly and said, ‘For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers’ (Matthew 23:4).
God gave us Jesus so we can be free from legalism and religiosity. He’s invited us into relationship with Himself, so we can live in the strength of His Spirit, we can love Him and hate what’s evil, and we can walk humbly and justly before Him. Today, let’s reject any burdens we’ve accepted, but which haven’t come from God. Perhaps these false burdens have been self-imposed, perhaps other people have controlled us, or perhaps the enemy has tried to trap us. Whatever the source of any false burdens, we can proclaim: ‘It is for freedom that Jesus has set us free!’ (Galatians 5:1).
Prayer: Father, thank You that You don’t place heavy burdens on me, but that Jesus told us to come to Him when we do feel heavily burdened. Help me to receive the right burdens from You and to reject any false burdens that don’t come from You. Right now, I stand against any false burdens, and I declare: It is for freedom that Christ has set me free. Therefore I reject any false burdens, especially those of legalism and religiosity. Amen.
Peter Brokaar is Director of Ellel Ministries Scotland and has been there together with his wife Liz since 2005. They have 3 kids, all born in Scotland! In his free time he likes reading, cooking, running and surfing. Being at Ellel Scotland has given him the privilege of getting to know God deeper and sharing that joy with many others.
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