What to Do When Life Won’t Fit

We’ve all had those moments when life feels overwhelming. You try to fix things, stay positive, and tell yourself it will get better. But no matter what you do, the pieces just won’t fit back the way they were before.

It’s like opening a brand-new toy from the store, pulling everything out, and then realizing something is wrong. You need to return it, but no matter how hard you try, the toy just won’t go back in the box the way it came.

Life can be the same way. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, the stress, the pain, and the mess remain. Maybe you feel like this today:
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• Your job feels like a dead end.
• Your family situation is falling apart.
• Your health isn’t where you want it to be.
• Your faith feels distant or empty.

What do you do when life won’t go back in the box?

The Universal Struggle

We tend to handle struggles in two ways:

1. We fight for control. We work harder, plan better, and try to manage the mess. But eventually, we hit a wall.
2. We break under the weight. We numb the pain with distractions—work, relationships, entertainment. We avoid what we can’t fix.

But what if we were never meant to carry it alone?

Jesus' Invitation to the Weary

Jesus speaks directly to this in Matthew 11:28-30:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Jesus offers two simple but powerful promises:

1. Come to me. He doesn’t say, "Fix yourself first." He simply says, "Come."
2. I will give you rest. Not just a break, but deep, soul-level peace.

If you already follow Jesus, ask yourself:

• Are you still holding onto control?
• Are you still carrying burdens that Jesus already paid for?

​And if you don’t follow Jesus yet, what if this is what you’ve been looking for all along?

The Cross: Where Burdens Are Lifted

At the center of Christianity isn’t a set of rules but an event—the moment Jesus took your burden on Himself at the Cross. Romans 5:8 says:

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Before you cleaned up your act, before you got your life together, Jesus died for you. He didn’t come for perfect people. He came for you.

And the Cross isn’t just about forgiveness; it’s about freedom.

Your Next Step

If you’re not yet following Jesus, you have a choice:

• You can keep carrying your guilt, your past, your brokenness.
• Or you can hand it over to Jesus today.

And if you do follow Jesus, ask yourself:

• Have you truly handed over your worries, stress, and fears?
• Are you trusting Him with both the small and big things?

​Because when we trust Jesus, everything changes.

Imagine If We Actually Did This

What if you really handed your burdens over to Jesus? What if today was the moment you finally surrendered?

Life won’t always fit back into the box. But when it doesn’t, Jesus says: Hand it over to me.

Will you?​

Author

Josh has been on staff at Lesmurdie Baptist Church since 2018. He is married to Marnel and they have 4 children together - Azaliah, Ezra, Zoelle, and Zion. What drives Josh is seeing people put their faith into action so Jesus can change lives in the here and now.

(This article has been written with the help of Chat-GPT for research and editing)