When you are experiencing a challenging time, how many of you have heard the phrase, “give it to Jesus?”

You are venting…you are expressing what is on your heart; you are still struggling and then you hear, “Give it to Jesus!” As though you have not already done that. 

There may be days when you remember some of the painful parts of trying situations.

The time when your loved one was suffering with COVID, and the outcome was bleak.

There may be times when the devasting news hits that a loved one has passed away.

There may be times when an unexpected diagnosis has been revealed.

Your marriage may be at the brink of divorce, or your child is wayward.

Your car was totaled.

You did not get that promotion or job opportunity.

There may be times when_________________________________.

The grief of it all brings moments of hurt and pain when your mind drifts back to what happened.

You have given these moments to Jesus’ time and time again, believing Jesus knows what’s best.

But then a trigger comes, your heart overflows with tears, your mind spirals with “what ifs,” and your soul is burdened by the pain. The cycle continues, and once again, you lay your heart before the Lord, giving it all to Him.

The Lord longs for us to experience freedom as we put it in His hands. Galatians 5:1 tells us that “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.”

You are free, yet in our humanness we feel and have emotions.

Jesus had moments of feelings and emotions. He was mad at the hypocrisy of the religious leaders (Matthew 23:13-33). While Jesus is often referred to as “ a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”(Isaiah 53:3), He was also one who knew joy(John 15:10-11) as well as experienced peace (Mark 14:36).

Even in the midst of Jesus’ emotions He was never outside the will of God, and He always consulted the Father in prayer (Luke 6:12).

As humans we will have those “moments.” But what do we do when those moments arise? We give it to Jesus again.

If the Lord thought we did not need to come to him daily about things, He might have said, “Give us this year our yearly bread.”

But that is not what He says at all. In Matthew 6:11, Jesus says, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

We are meant to come to Jesus again and again. 

So, what does it mean to “give it to Jesus?” It means when that heartache, that pain, that tough circumstance, that negative thought or vain imagination rises in our minds and hearts, we ask the Lord to walk with us, to help us, to free us and to restore us, to strengthen us, to comfort us, again and again and again. This is where our freedom comes and how we continually walk in the healing of Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You that You have set us free to live in eternity with You when we ask You to be our Savior. Lord, set us free here and now too. We know we are not exempt from test and trials. But moment by moment, we give our pains, struggles and heartaches to You. We ask for Your strength and comfort. Help us experience the freedom You have come to give us. In Jesus Name, Amen.

PEARLStoPONDER: The Lord really wants us to be set free and to stay set free. The only way is by “giving it to the Lord” daily.

Psalm 55:22--Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

Matthew 11:28-30-- Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

1 Peter 5:7--casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Romans 12:19--Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[a] to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”