Is this grief, this sorrow, my cross to bear? And if so, how do I do it without letting it define me? How do I carry it without it becoming unbearable? How do I even begin to have new adventures when the pain of the past and even the present lay so heavily on me?
I don’t exactly have the answer. I mean I know the answer, but it isn’t an easy 10-step plan.
I believe it is in Christ’s strength. I believe it is in a constant recognition that I need Him. Desperately.
He is everything. He will help me. He says He will. He says He will carry the burden with me. I don’t have to do this alone.
“This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life” (Ps. 119:50).
The yoke He speaks of in Matthew 11—His yoke—how does that work? How is it easier and lighter? And how do I give up my stuff and take His yoke? I can barely lift my stuff off my shoulders.
God brought me to these verses—I just know it—to remind me of the gospel. I believe those verses are about the gospel. Honestly, I’m seeing that all of God’s Word is about the gospel.
The rest Christ promises is from all the things we do to make things better to make us better.
John MacArthur says it like this: “Rest speaks of a permanent respite in the grace of God completely apart from works.”
I think what I’m seeing is God’s answer is the gospel.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:8-10, NIV).
God has done it all, and He is doing it all. I’m just blessed to be part of the plan.
The gospel is all about what Christ has done, not what I’ve done or do or will do. Thank goodness!
I can’t fix things here. I’ve tried. No luck.
I can’t even fix me. And I certainly can’t fix anyone else.
So what can I do? I can rest in God’s grace.
I can know without a doubt that I’m saved, that I’m loved, that I’m cherished, precious, chosen, beloved, strengthened, protected, secure, never alone and never forsaken by the One who knows me best.
Whatever the sorrow or pain you bear, He will bear it with you.
“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation” (Ps. 91:14-16, ESV).
When you just feel like giving up, remember the great love God has for you. Immerse yourself in His Word.
“My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!” (Ps. 119:28).
When you just can’t bear the thought of giving up anything or anyone else, know that He is enough to fill the void. He will take the empty place and make it full again. He will. It might not look like you thought or even like you want it to, but He knows best. Trust.
“I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8).
Can I be brave and give you an example from my life? I would love to get married again—to be a helpmate to a godly man. I would love to have the opportunity to love again within the covenant of marriage—deeply, richly, passionately.
And it seems like God keeps asking me to give that hope up to Him. Lately, it has been painful to think about, and I want to “fix” my situation.
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett 
