Are you tired? You’ve been carrying that burden far too long, and it is weighing you down. The extra weight is becoming more than you can carry alone. The weight is more than you can bear, and the good news is you don’t have to carry it by yourself.
“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Your burden could be worry, anxiety, stress, past mistakes, or difficulty in a relationship. No matter the source of the heavy burden, the offer for help is the same.
Jesus invites us…
To come to him.
To bring our burdens to him.
To allow him to help carry the weight.
Friend, we don’t have to wait until we’re no longer carrying the burden. Jesus invites us to come now, and the invitation comes with a promise.
Jesus’ invitation comes with a promise of rest. He can take the burden and replace it with rest, giving us some peace.
So, if you’re weighed down by burdens today, remember Jesus’ invitation. “Come to me,” he invites, “and find rest.”
Do Mondays make you want to growl like a tiger or hide your head under the blankets? The rest of the weekend is gone, the hectic pace of the week kicks off. This week’s busy schedule and long hours may have you searching for motivation. If so, here’s encouragement, and a slight challenge, from the Bible.
Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.”
Work is often viewed as a burden. Long hours, difficult tasks, and daily responsibilities can leave us exhausted. Yet, Scripture reminds us that our work can be an act of worship.
Encouragement
Our work today will not go unnoticed. We will impact someone by what we do today. It may seem like a small and insignificant task to us, but it could be the one reason someone else has a good day. It may be answering a customer’s question, ensuring a shelf is fully stocked, emptying a garbage can, or writing a news article. Our work today will be noticed by someone.
We may have a boss that is oblivious to everything we do, but our work today will improve someone’s life. The question we answer may help a mom find medication for her newborn. The shelf we stock may help a senior citizen not have to worry because she won’t be able to come back to the store until next week. The trash we empty will help someone have a cleaner environment. The article we write will help our neighbors better understand our community. Today’s work will be noticed, which brings us to the challenge.
Challenge
This verse challenges us to work as if we were working for the Lord rather than people. We’re challenged to do everything in faithfulness. We’re challenged to work as if we’re serving the Lord, because we are. Our actions at work today could have eternal significance. They could help someone else better understand grace or see Jesus in a way they never have before. Whatever you do, do it in a manner that brings glory to God.
Today, whatever task is before you, do it with excellence and gratitude. Remember that your ultimate audience is not your employer, your neighbors, or even yourself. You serve the Lord, and nothing done for him is ever wasted.
A crowd had gathered, and Jesus was teaching. We aren’t told what he was talking about. Maybe it was compassion. Maybe it was anxiety. We simply don’t know.
Then, suddenly, the door burst open.
A group of men came rushing in, dragging a woman into the middle of the crowd.
“We caught this woman in the act of adultery,” one of them shouted. “The law says we should stone her. Jesus, what do you say?”
It was a trap.
But Jesus didn’t answer right away.
John 8 tells us that he bent down and began writing in the dust. We aren’t told what he wrote or exactly why he did it. Perhaps he was making a point or simply giving everyone a moment to think.
Whatever the reason, the crowd kept demanding an answer.
Finally, Jesus stood and said:
“All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” (John 8:7).
At this, tension lessened, and the atmosphere of the room suddenly changed.
One by one, the accusers slipped away. The oldest left first, followed by the others, until there was no one left but Jesus and the woman.
Jesus then asked her:
“Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
“No, Lord,” she replied.
And Jesus said:
“Neither do I. Go and sin no more” (John 8:11).
Focus on that scene for a moment.
Everyone else had walked away. The accusations were gone. The condemnation was gone. Only Jesus remained, and he offered her something she desperately needed: grace and a fresh start.
Her past did not have to define her future.
Maybe you need to hear that today.
Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is ourselves. We remember what we did, said, and mistakes we wish we could undo. Even when everyone else has moved on, we continue carrying the guilt of the past, but Jesus offers freedom.
Romans 8:1 reminds us that “there is now no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus,” and Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”
Jesus didn’t tell the woman that what she had done didn’t matter. He told her to “go and sin no more.” But he also refused to condemn her.
That’s grace.
So the next time the guilt of your past comes knocking, remember the woman in John 8.
Remember that your mistakes don’t have the final word.
Remember that Jesus offers forgiveness, grace, and a fresh start.
You don’t have to keep carrying the guilt Jesus has already taken away.
Let his grace replace your guilt with the peace that only he can give.
“Well, finding this out really wasn’t on my bingo card.”
I’m sure you have a life event fitting that description. Sometimes life doesn’t go according to plan. An unexpected diagnosis, a lost opportunity, financial struggles, or a difficult season can leave us wondering if our purpose has somehow been delayed. The good news is that God’s plans are not dependent on perfect circumstances.
We read in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
These words were first spoken to exiles who may have been lacking in hope. Perhaps they felt as if God’s plans had been erased, but God ensured that was not the case. His purpose wasn’t on hold.
The exiles shared this experience with others in Scripture. Joseph spent years in prison before stepping into leadership. Moses spent decades in the wilderness before leading Israel. David was anointed king long before he wore the crown. What looked like delays were actually preparation.
Can you relate? Your current circumstances were never in your plans, and you’ve never imagined you’d be experiencing today. It seems as if all of God’s plans for your life have been erased, and there is no hope.
Friend, if that describes you, take courage. The words of Jeremiah 29:11 are as true for you as they were for the exiles. God’s promise is as true for you as it was for Joseph, Moses, and David. If you feel stuck today, remember that God is still at work. Your current situation may not look like part of the plan, but God is using every experience to shape your character, strengthen your faith, and prepare you for what lies ahead.
Pip: Get Encouraged arrives this week with a cluster of posts that all seem to circle the same restless question: what do you do when life feels like it is moving faster than your faith can keep up?
Mara: Chris Miller is the writer behind all of it — covering worry, silence, gratitude, neighbor love, and what it looks like to stay rooted when the wind picks up. Let's start with the territory a lot of us know too well: trusting God through silence and worry.
Trusting God When Worry Knocks
Pip: The question running through this segment is one most people won't admit out loud — what do you do when worry fills the calendar the same way meetings do, or when you pray and hear nothing back?
Mara: The post "Today's Tasks: Why Worry About Tomorrow?" sets it up directly. Jesus says, "Don't worry about tomorrow for today has enough worries of its own."
Pip: Which is either deeply comforting or the most efficient out-of-office reply ever written. But the real point stands — today's agenda is already full; worry about tomorrow is an uninvited guest.
Mara: "Understanding God's Silence: Trusting in His Timing" takes the harder case — when prayer feels like it's bouncing off the ceiling. It points to Job, Joseph, and the silence before Jesus' birth as examples where God was working invisibly. Psalm 46:10 is the anchor: "Be still, and know that I am God."
Pip: That's the practical upshot — silence isn't absence. The post is essentially saying God's timing has a track record, even when you can't see the work in progress.
Mara: "Overcoming Worry: Biblical Insights for Peace" extends that into daily life, pointing to birds and flowers as creation's sermon on provision. And there's a Spotify episode, "Are You Worried? A Practical Way to Help Overcome Worry," that offers a more hands-on angle for listeners who want to take the next step.
Pip: From worry about tomorrow, it's a short walk to how we see the people standing right in front of us today.
Gratitude, Neighbors, and What We Choose to See
Pip: The frame here is perspective — specifically whether gratitude and neighbor love are feelings that happen to us or choices we make about what we're looking at.
Mara: "Finding Gratitude in Every Situation" quotes Paul from Colossians 2:7, saying that when our lives are rooted in Christ, we will "overflow with thankfulness." Not occasionally find something — overflow.
Pip: The post illustrates it with a neighbor's fallen tree that took out an old, ugly bush they'd been wanting removed anyway. Circumstances unchanged; perspective shifted.
Mara: "Seeing Our Neighbor as God Does" carries that outward — asking whether we extend the same generous view to the people who frustrate us that we extend to ourselves, because God's love covers them too.
Roots Deep Enough to Hold
Pip: When the wind actually arrives — not as a metaphor but as a literal fallen tree — the question becomes whether your roots were deep enough before the storm started.
Mara: "Strengthening Your Faith Roots in Tough Times" opens with exactly that: a neighbor's evergreen going down on a sunny, windy day. The diagnosis is the root system, not the wind. Paul's words from Colossians 2:6-7 follow: "Let your roots grow down into him and let your lives be built on him, then your faith will grow strong."
Pip: So the upshot is practical — you can't control the wind, but you can decide how deeply you're rooted before it arrives.
Mara: The post offers four concrete suggestions: daily time in Scripture, prayer, recalling God's faithfulness, and cultivating thankfulness. "Why Labor Day Reminds Us to Work Hard and Rest Well" adds a companion idea — that rest itself is part of God's design, not a failure of productivity. Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11:28 is the anchor there: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Pip: Deep roots, honest rest, and a perspective that can find the blessing in a fallen tree. Not a bad place to land.
Mara: Worry, silence, gratitude, neighbors, roots — it's all circling the same question of where we're anchored when life gets loud.
Pip: Next time, we'll see what else is growing over at Get Encouraged. Stay rooted.
Have you ever felt like life isn’t moving fast enough? We live in a world of instant information and on-demand everything, so when it comes to our goals and plans, we desire the same. We want instant solutions, quick growth, and fast answers to long-standing problems. But life doesn’t seem to move at that speed. Change usually occurs at a slower pace, which is why Proverbs 16:9 is so encouraging.
“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”
The writer of Proverbs reminds us God frequently works through small steps rather than giant leaps. A person recovering from illness makes progress one day at a time. A student masters a subject one lesson at a time. A believer grows spiritually through daily choices to trust and obey God. Change can occur one step at a time.
Those steps may seem insignificant in the moment, but they add up. Today’s step takes you closer to recovery. Today’s lesson moves you closer to the end of the course. Following the Lord today helps you exercise your faith. Each step takes you closer to the finish line.
We can easily be overwhelmed by looking at the whole plan and seeing the remaining distance, so we forget to celebrate how far we’ve come. Each day’s step may seem small, but it has a big impact.
So don’t underestimate today’s small act of faith. A simple prayer, a kind word, a few minutes in Scripture, or one courageous step forward may be exactly what God uses to move you closer to his purpose. Keep moving forward. Progress may be slow, but with God, every faithful step matters.
Have you ever prayed and wondered if anyone was listening? Have you ever felt as if your prayers were just bouncing off the ceiling? Most of us experience seasons when God seems silent. We pray for direction, healing, wisdom, or answers, yet heaven appears quiet. During those times, it’s tempting to think God has forgotten us, but the Bible reminds us he hasn’t.
We read in Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God!”
Just because God isn’t answering doesn’t mean he isn’t there. Just because prayers haven’t been answered doesn’t mean he isn’t working. Throughout Scripture, we see times when it seemed God wasn’t working, yet he was.
Job experienced a long season of struggle.
Joseph experienced many ups and downs.
God was completely silent just before Jesus’ birth.
It may have seemed as if God wasn’t hearing prayers, but he was continually there and continually working.
Job was restored.
The Lord used Joseph to help save his family and the nation of Israel.
The Lord was working hard to get everything ready for Jesus’ birth.
In each of these situations, the Lord’s timing was perfect. The same will be true for us. The Lord’s timing will be perfect.
If God seems silent today, hang in there. Remember that he has not abandoned you. He is still…
Working behind the scenes.
Guiding your steps.
Fulfilling his purposes in your life.
Friend, you can rest today in the promise of Psalm 46. Be still. Trust God. He knows the way forward.
How full is your calendar today? If you are like me, it is pretty full. Between work, getting the kids to school, and running errands, there is just not a lot of time for anything else. Especially worry about tomorrow. That’s why it is encouraging to find this nugget of wisdom tucked away in Matthew 6.
Jesus says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow for today has enough worries of its own” (Matthew 6:34)
As we think of all that is coming and all that may happen tomorrow, it is easy to let worry creep into our lives. However, Jesus encourages us not to worry about those events and days in the future. We are reminded the Lord has our back. He is going to take care of tomorrow. After all, today’s agenda is full. there’s no room for worry about tomorrow.
Are you worried? While we may not want to acknowledge it, most of us spend time throughout the day worrying. Our calendars are full, and we need more time. Our bank accounts are low, and there are bills to pay. Life is hectic. Worry seems to invade our thoughts, so the Bible has encouragement for these times.
Jesus says, “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:31-33).
“Don’t worry,” Jesus encourages. As he says this, he points to the birds and flowers. Neither worry, yet the Lord meets their needs. If nature’s needs are met, how much more will the Lord take care of us?
Friend, Jesus’ words are true. Worry will always try to invade our thoughts, but faith can be our defense. God invites you to trade your worry for his peace.
So when anxiety rises, pause and look outside. See the birds. Notice the flowers. Let creation preach to you: “If God cares for them, he cares for me too.”
Get Encouraged 