Leave it at the Cross

• We have to surrender our burdens to God, find rest in His grace, and stand firm in our faith for true happiness and peace.

 

• Philippians 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made know to God.”

 

• Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

 

• Charles Spurgeon said “ It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.”

 

• True wisdom and joy is not found in the passion we have for things of this world but are truly found in the depth of our joy found in the Lord.

 

• Revelations 1;17 “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead.  But He laid His right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last.”’

 

• Each of the passages I have read promise us hope, rest and paint a clear picture of a God that is full of compassion and mercy. They paint a picture of a God that tells us to lay down our burdens and find rest in Him.
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• I am not talking to anyone but possibly myself. We stay so full of burdens.  God is here and ready to carry your burdens, ready to give us rest.

 

• Are we going to surrender our burdens to Him? Are we going to allow Him to give us freedom? Are we going to stand firm on our faith.

 

• This is the only way we can find rest in Him!

 

• How many of you like me have said I am going to lay it at the foot of the Cross and I am giving it to God?

 

• The problem I find with this is the devil wants to come at us telling us we forgot something back at the cross and we take it back.

 

• I tell you we must tell him that is not mine, I gave it to God and He took it and is handling it. Get away from me!

 

• Don’t mistake what I am telling you. We have to do our part but when we have done all we can, we have to stand on the promises of God.

 

• All to often we try to carry all these worries and burdens ourselves. They way us down and even begin to at least I know in my case cause our health to deteriorate. 
• The good news is that God is ready and willing to help us carry them. He tells us to give them to Him.

 

• All we have to do is just simply surrender them to Him.

 

• Now I know you are saying well that is easier said than done. I totally agree, it is not a passive act.  It’s also not about giving up and admitting defeat.

 

• It is about acknowledging that we are not meant to carry this baggage.

 

• It is about knowing God is bigger than any problem we could possibly have and knowing He can handle anything.

 

• When we give it truly to Him we are saying to Him God I trust you and believe in Your power, Your wisdom and Your love for me.

 

• Every time we surrender our burdens to God and I mean really leave them at the cross. When we see how faithful and true He is to take them up and handle them our faith grows more and more.

 

• We see firsthand that God is faithful, that He is trustworthy and that He is capable.

 

• You know what though the devil does not want you to have that kind of faith. He wants you to continue to have that little bit of doubt because if you do, you will never find true joy. 

 

• Then guess what you don’t win. Your still stuck in misery.  God does not get what He wants which is to see you full of peace, love and joy. 

 

• The devil doesn’t have your soul, but he surely has a little bit of your joy!

 

• I don’t know about you, but I am tired of that evil one getting between me and my joy that only God has for me!

 

• The thing is surrendering our burdens is not just something we do once, and it is done. Every day we must practice it and have that constant act of faith. 

 

• Every day we are faced with new worries and burdens. Every day we add more to the ones we said we were going to give to God but took back. 

 

• Every day though we have the chance to surrender these burdens to God.

 

• Every day we need to remind ourselves of our dependence on God, our need for His strength, His wisdom and His love.

 

• And every day as Blood bought, born again children of God we need to remind the devil, God has us in the palm of His hand and our problems are nothing for Him to handle!

 

• Surrendering our burdens to God is an act of humility, It is an way of admitting we are not self-sufficient, that we cannot handle everything on our own.

 

• It is a way of recognizing our limitations, our weakness and our need for God. In this humility there is freedom because we open ourselves up to God, His help, His strength and wisdom.

 

• The book of Matthew says “come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

 

• He doesn’t tell us we will not have problems and burdens but what He is promising is He will help us carry that load.

 

• This promise is not just for some things it is in all situations. No matter how heavy or big our problems are we just have to surrender them to God and He will be faithful to give us rest.

 

• Now I ask you are you really surrendering your problems to God or are you just laying them at the cross while you are praying? Then when you are done do you pick them back up, tuck them in your pocket and keep them to add to tomorrow’s problems?

 

• If you are, what is the point and as I am asking myself where is the faith?

 

• Back in the day when I ran the business, I always told my secretaries to handle a piece of paper once. If they didn’t at the end of the week all they would have is a stack of paper.  I am telling you and myself the same thing about our burdens.  Do the best you can and give it to God or at the end of the week all you will have is a pile of problems and no joy!

 

• As we build our faith and grow it in God’s way we will find ourselves in a place of peace, a sanctuary of solace, a place of heaven where our hearts can find rest.

 

• It will be a place that we can relax and know God is in control!
• Exodus chapter 14 verse 14 is a powerful promise. “ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

 

• This verse tells us of God’s release. It is  Not a place of frantic activity and rushing around worrying.  It is a place of stillness, a place where we can rest in the knowledge that our God is fighting for us.

 

• Psalm 46:11 “The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.

 

• Psalm 46:10 in the beginning says “Be still and know that I am God”

 

• The biggest part of staying in God’s release is trust. Trusting not just in some things but in all things!

 

• Proverbs 3:5-6 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.'

 

• Trusting in God is like being in a rough sea and anchoring yourself down.  Its holding on to the promises of God, even when the winds of doubt and fear threaten to uproot us from our spiritual ground. It is about laying all our burdens at the foot of the cross and leaving them there trusting that God will handle them in His perfect time!