Under the Expectation Burden

If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28 (CEV)

Expectations! What expectations do your parents have for you? Your teachers? Coaches? Which ones do you have for yourself?

Do you feel like you can’t measure up? Like you can never mess up because if you do, you will be cut off from the relationship forever? All of it can feel heavy and impossible some days. And you may hear that God wants you to be some kind of saint. Well, that isn’t happening.

Yes, it can be hard to do the right thing. But we shouldn’t do the right thing for others or to meet their expectations. We should do the right thing to please God and God alone.

And today’s Scripture says that he will help you make those good choices. You don’t have to feel the heavy burden of having to be perfect or meet others’ expectations. Jesus offers to take that burden from you and then help you with each decision you make.

You see, it’s not always easy being a Christian or walking on a good path. But it’s always worth it because it brings us closer to Jesus and helps us become more like him.

This week, step out from under any heaviness you feel. Let Jesus lift it off you. Pray to him and ask for help to do what’s right. He will help you through it!

SPIRITUAL FITNESS TRAINING

As a teenager, you make hundreds of decisions every single day. Some seem unimportant—what to wear, what snack to eat, what TV show to watch. But many are very important and often difficult to make. Think of some decisions you have to make in the coming days and weeks. Find some paper or a journal to write them down and then ask God to help reveal to you the right choice to make. Spend time in prayer and silence this week just listening, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart. He will always guide you if you let him.

INSPIRATION

“You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.”

—Rosa Parks, American civil rights advocate in the 1960s, who is best known for boycotting racially segregated seating on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help you expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. Swipe to read the passages today.

Jeremiah 6:16

Psalm 37:7

Psalm 62:1

Matthew 11:29–30