Your Burden Is Over: 30-Day Devotional in Spanish
Eric L. Johnson's 30-day Christian devotional is now available in Spanish at the ministry's official store.
Your Burden Is Over, the 30-day Christian devotional by Eric L. Johnson, is now available in Spanish. The Spanish edition deals with faith, hope, health and perseverance, according to the ministry's official store.
Almost all of us carry something that doesn't show up on the scale. A phrase you can't forget. Years of starting over every January. And underneath all of it, an uncomfortable question: Does God still love me if I can't change?
The burden Jesus names
That's where the gospel answers differently from almost everything you hear. Jesus didn't say "try harder"; He said: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28, ESV). Rest isn't bought with discipline. It's received.
«Rest isn't bought with discipline. It's received.»
It helps to distinguish two weights we tend to mix up. The first is physical and real: pounds, exhaustion, tests that come back bad. The second is deeper: the guilt of sin and the attempt to be right with God by your own effort. That second weight is the one no diet plan can take off. Only the cross does.
When you confess and believe, the verdict is already written: forgiven, adopted, free. Your health matters, but it stops being the courtroom where your worth is decided.
The body: a good creature, not a savior
God created your body and called it good. Taking care of it is stewardship, not vanity: sleep, move, eat calmly, go to the doctor when you need to. The problem shows up when a healthier body has to carry something that doesn't belong to it: being your identity, your peace and your approval.
Paul puts it in its place: "for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way" (1 Timothy 4:8, ESV). He doesn't despise exercise; he gives it its measure. Your body is a tool; the throne belongs to Christ.
And watch out for the opposite promise, the one you hear in videos and from some pulpits: that if you believe enough, blessing arrives as a number on the scale or in your bank account. Scripture never conditions God's love on your size or your money. Grace is a gift: it isn't earned, it's received.
Thirty days and a community
A 30-day devotional serves a specific purpose: it forces you to be consistent. Having a plan is fine. What isn't fine is believing the plan saves you, or that on day 31 you've become holy just for having completed it.
If you're going to start, don't do it alone. Tell a friend from your church what you're hoping for and what's hard for you. Whether you live in Guadalajara, Dallas or any other city, your local church is the best place to start. Pray before you open the book, so it doesn't become just a routine.
And if the topic of weight stirs up something deeper — anxiety, guilt, an image of yourself you avoid looking at — talk to a trusted adult, a health professional or your pastor. Don't carry it in silence.
This week pick a day, put it in your phone and tell someone. Before you count pounds or pages, count who you're handing your burden to. Jesus' invitation hasn't expired.
