“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.”
Matthew 11:28

Dealing with an addiction can be a heavy weight to bear. You feel pulled in many directions. There is a struggle within you between what you want to do and what you should do. The struggle can often be too much to bear for many people, hence searching for a way of escape in one form or another.

In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells those who may feel exactly like you do to come to Him. He is the source of rest. Your tired, anxious mind can finally be at peace when you move towards Jesus. The fear, desperation, and worry you feel can be swallowed up in a peace that passes all understanding. A yoke is a reference to what oxen would wear when they were used to plow a field. That heavy yoke controlled and led the oxen. For Jesus, the things He bears are not heavy, because he is God. This means that you can cast your cares, your yoke, that thing which controls or steers your life, onto Jesus. Give your sin and your shame to Him, because He cares for you and He loves you. The extra weight of what you give to Jesus won't affect Him in the least, but it will change your whole life.

Take some time this week to listen to this podcast episode by Caroline Leaf as she discusses Addiction and how to overcome and help someone else overcome an addiction.