[Get Rid of Your Stress by Giving Up Control]( Current Teaching Series [The Life You Were Meant to Live]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Get Rid of Your Stress by Giving Up Control](
By Rick Warren â 03/09/2023 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= âTake 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.â Matthew 11:29-30 (NIV) If youâre living life on overload, hereâs one reason why: Youâre trying to control too much. You think it all depends on you. You believe things like, âIf itâs to be, itâs up to me. Iâve got to hold it all together. Iâve got to make it all work.â Friend, you are not the general manager of the universe. The greater your need to control, the more stressed youâre going to be in life. Jesus has a different plan for you: âTake 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 lightâ (Matthew 11:29-30 NIV). You say, âWait a minute. Take something else on? That sounds like a burden. I donât need to take on more. Iâm already carrying way too much!â Letâs take another look at what Jesus is saying in Matthew 11 when he tells you to take his yoke on yourself. If you didnât grow up on a farm, you may never have seen a yoke. A yoke is a single piece of wood that brings two farm animals together, so they can share the burden of a load. A yoke is not a harness. When you put a harness on one animal, it has to pull the whole load. But with a yoke, you team up two or more animals, so the load is shared; itâs lightened. A yoke makes life easier on the animal, not harder. When Jesus tells you to take his yoke upon yourself, itâs like heâs saying, âI never meant for you to carry all your problems by yourself. Let me help you! Team up with me, partner with me, and I will help you carry the load.â If you feel stressed right now, it means you are not yoked to Jesus Christ. Stress is a warning sign. It tells you that youâre trying to control things and carry too much on your own. Every time you get disconnected from Jesus, the stress goes up in your life. You may be a follower of Jesus Christ, but if youâre overloaded at this moment, you are not yoked up to him. But every time you get reconnected and yoked up, Jesus helps you pull the load. And your stress goes down. Itâs tempting to think that the antidote to stress is escape. But the problem is that stress is in your mindâso you take it with you wherever you go. You can be just as stressed lying on a white sandy beach as you are right in the middle of your problems at home. The answer is to give up control, to accept the yoke of Jesus. And when you do, God will give you peace. [PLAY todayâs audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - What areas of your life have you been trying to control that are causing stress for you?
- In practical terms, what does it look like to give up control to Christ?
- How can you reconnect with Jesus this week so that he can help carry your load? Will you follow Jesus today? The Bible says you can only get to heaven by trusting in God through his Son, Jesus Christ. You cannot earn your way into heaven: âIt is by grace you have been saved, through faithâand this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of Godânot by works, so that no one can boastâ (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV). If youâre ready to commit your life to Jesus, start with this prayer: âDear God, you have promised that if I believe in your Son, Jesus Christ, everything Iâve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day. "I confess I have sinned, and I ask for your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died to take away my sins and that you raised him to life. I want to trust Jesus as my Savior and follow him as Lord from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do your will. In Jesusâ name I pray. Amen." If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know about it. Iâd like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus. The post [Get Rid of Your Stress by Giving Up Control]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd%20like%20to%20share%20a%20Daily%20Devotional%20from%20Pastor%20Rick%20with%20you&body= [Get the Re-Energize Your Life Bible Study when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( Through your generous first-time gift today, youâll help reach millions around the world through Daily Hope so they can find new life and certain hope in Jesus. And thanks to a special $10,000 Matching Grant, your gift today will be DOUBLED! Weâll say thanks for your generous support by sending you Pastor Rickâs Re-Energize Your Life Bible study, with proven strategies and biblical wisdom to help you feel renewed, refreshed, and revitalized. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 7 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series The Life You Were Meant to Live. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: Evicting Envy from Your Heart
Message 2: Getting Ready to Be Used by God
Message 3: Slowing Down
Message 4: Building Margin Into Your Life
Message 5: Remembering What Matters Most
Message 6: How to Lighten Your Load
Message 7: Focusing Your Life [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rickâs daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( Rick Warren is the founding pastor of [Saddleback Church]( one of Americaâs largest and most influential churches. Pastor Rick is the author of the New York Times bestseller [The Purpose Driven Life](. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. Pastor Rick created [The PEACE Plan]( to address the five global giantsâspiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracyâthrough the power of ordinary people in the local church. His Daily Hope broadcast and daily devotionals are offered around the world. You can listen to the broadcast or sign up for the free devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2023 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below.
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