Happy Life

Burdens bring us down, while wings help us fly. Even small things can become a big burden for us. For many people it can be their appearance, or a regret about studying in their younger days, or wishing they were born into a different family. People have different frustrations that keep bringing them down. 
But if you have wings, you can fly high. If you have strong wings, regardless of your burdens, you will fly high. 

Isaiah 40:31 “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Those who wait on the Lord and keep close to Him- in other words, those who pray and trust in God- will rise up and fly! Jesus is our burden lifter. 

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.”
People carry so many burdens. Parents are burdened about their children and it keeps bringing them down. 

Hebrews 12:1-2  says “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
 In the previous chapter, Hebrews 11, we see the stories of the heroes of faith who completed their race and lived their life God. Who do you live your life for? Is it for your children, or spouse, or career? If you are living your life for God, the benefit is that we can neglect many other things because our desire is in Him. 

Looking at these heroes of faith, Paul encourages us to throw off everything that holds us back and let go of our sins so that we can run our race! Imagine running a race with weights tied around your legs- this is what living with burdens and sins is like. We need deliverance and freedom from these weights in our life that hold us down and drag us back. 
The solution for this is to give our burdens to Jesus. He is willing and able to carry our burdens and give us rest. He gives us his yoke instead- it is easy and light.
In Verse 2, Paul tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus. Jesus completed His race on earth, and He looked at each of us as the prize. If you can wear today’s cross, you will wear a crown tomorrow! Jesus didn’t face persecution only during the final hours before His death. Before birth, His father Joseph wanted to leave His mother only because of Him. He faced challenges throughout His life but He won the race. 

Look to Jesus, there is always a solution to your problem! Don’t tell yourself that there is no way out. God can do anything!  If you can wear today’s cross, you will wear a crown tomorrow! 
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Live your life for Christ! Give your life into the hands of Jesus- let this life be His. Take in His Spirit, His thoughts, His desires. 
If you look at Paul’s life, he spent a good amount of his life persecuting the Church. One encounter with Jesus changed his life. Your life can also change with just one encounter.