28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30
We are near the end of the school year and I can imagine many of you are carrying the burdens of a long season. Maybe you got injured or didn’t play as much as you hoped. Maybe trials hit off the field that affected your play or perhaps you had a great year, but you’re still not satisfied with life. The fact is we are all carrying burdens of one type or another.
The lie the enemy speaks to athletes, or at least to me, is that God doesn’t care. When we are burdened by our play or feeling the weight of expectations, the enemy says: “It’s just a game…God doesn’t care.” This is a lie. God cares because He loves you and created you with the very ability you are using to play. Far too often I wouldn’t go to God with the burdens I was carrying because I didn’t think He cared about my silly ol’ baseball games.
One of my best friends told me this recently: “The difference between Christianity and other religions is that Jesus says, ‘Give me your burden’ while other religions say, ‘Here, take this burden.’” We serve a God who loves us deeply and longs to be a part of every facet of our life—including our sports lives. Trust His great love for you by laying your burdens before Him and receive His rest.
- Reflect on His great love for you.
- Reread Matthew 11:28-30 slowly and allow Christ to speak this truth over your life.
- Give Him your burdens and trust that He will give you rest.
