I will give you rest

I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that He came to earth, lived a perfect life, suffered for all of our sins, pains and heartaches, died for all mankind, was resurrected, and lives to this day. These beliefs have given me hope, peace, and much needed help throughout my entire life. I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which many have nicknamed “LDS” or “Mormons”. I believe with all my heart that my church is led by Jesus Christ Himself. I’ve come to believe these things through a long series of answered prayers, miracles, and moments of peace spoken to my hurting heart. In this blog, I plan to share these faith-building experiences for the purpose of bringing others to Christ and extending the invitation to learn more.

For my first post, I’m going to share a story of when I first truly realized the power of Christ’s *atonement. I was 17 years old and in my first semester of college. For whatever reason, past hurtful experiences were at the forefront of my mind. For the first time in my life, I was really examining them and trying to process it all. I was angry and resentful. I was trying to understand and put every piece of the story into its proper place. I was asking questions like: Has enough been done to make the violator pay? Are they even sorry? I wanted proper payment, even proper suffering. I wanted absolutely fair justice. I felt unsettled, anxious and worried. The weight of it was heavy on my shoulders and I couldn’t process it all. What was I supposed to do?

During this time, I called my mom and tearfully poured out my heart. She listened with sympathy as I talked of my confusion and worries. I’ll never forget the moment she responded and told me this: The entire reason Christ suffered the atonement was so that we could lay our burdens at his feet and He will take them for us and make EVERYTHING perfectly RIGHT. In that moment, I physically felt a weight lift out of my chest. Relief flooded my body. After a lifetime of learning of Christ, a lightbulb I hadn’t ever quite understood suddenly came on. It was clear now. I was feeling overburdened because I was trying to do God’s job. 

Only Christ can judge injustices in perfect righteousness. He will examine all sides, all factors, all hearts involved. He will administer perfect justice and perfect mercy. He can do this perfectly because He suffered every sin, temptation, sickness, and heartache through His atonement – Thus He understands each of us perfectly. 

Now my heart could rest because I knew that Jesus would take care of everything. All I needed to do was trust Him. Trust that one day, those who wronged me would meet Him face to face and be held accountable for their actions. If they truly *repented, they would meet mercy. If they didn’t, they would meet justice. Either way, I didn’t need to worry about it anymore because Jesus would be the judge of that. He had it covered. I could finally let it go, forgive, leave the rest up to God, and move on. 

This scripture from the Bible always comes to mind when I think of this experience. Matthew 11:

 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

For anyone struggling with a burden - whether it be a grudge, a past hurt, a sin, or just worrying too much-I bear my testimony that Christ can help. If there is something you need to do, do what is in your power. After that, try giving your burden over to Christ. Lay them all down to Him in humble prayer. Trust that He can carry them because He knows and loves you perfectly. After all, He said Himself: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Definitions taken from lds.org:

*Atonement: “The Atonement is the sacrifice Jesus Christ made to help us overcome sin, adversity, and death. Jesus’s atoning sacrifice took place in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary. He paid the price for our sins, took upon Himself death, and was resurrected. The Atonement is the supreme expression of the love of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.” (https://www.lds.org/youth/learn/yw/atonement/what?lang=eng)

*Repentance: “A change of mind and heart that brings a fresh attitude toward God, oneself, and life in general. Repentance implies that a person turns away from evil and turns his heart and will to God, submitting to God’s commandments and desires and forsaking sin. True repentance comes from a love for God and a sincere desire to obey his commandments. All accountable persons have sinned and must repent in order to progress toward salvation. Only through the atonement of Jesus Christ can our repentance become effective and accepted by God.” (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/gs/repent-repentance?lang=eng).