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Yesterday, I heard someone say, they were “sick and tired of being sick and tired.” After a brief conversation, I told him, “It doesn’t have to be that way.” I offered a cup of coffee (my treat) and said I’d explain. We sat down, and I read a few verses to him.

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:1-5).

“Let me explain,” I said, after a sip of coffee and noticing my friend’s confused stare. “You are sick and tired because you are carrying around a heavy load of sin, regret and burdens. But even when we were sinners, God had mercy on us and loved us so much he removed our sins and trespasses through his Son, Jesus Christ.”

“Jesus himself told us,” I continued, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

I let that sink in for a minute, then slid a piece of paper to my friend and said, “Write down your burden and fold it up.”

Continuing, I read, “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). That burden you wrote down may seem as big and heavy as a mountain, but faith in the power of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will turn that mountain into a mole hill that you can step on and not even slow down.

“How is that possible?” he asked.

“Well, Scripture tells us,” I replied, “Our battles are not against visible flesh and blood, but against dark powers and spiritual forces of evil, so we need to fight our battles correctly. The Apostle Paul tells us, ‘For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For God has put all things in subjection under his feet’” (1 Corinthians 15:25-27).

“Does your current burden fall into the category ‘all things’? Through Jesus,” I continued, “all our sins and trespasses are forgiven and forgotten.”

“But God will ransom [payment made in order to free someone who has been captured or kidnapped, returning them to their family or position] my soul from the power of Sheol [death], for he will receive me” (Psalm 49:15).

“By the death of a perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ on the cross, the sin debt was paid to release us from our captor, the devil.”

I could tell he was thinking all this over while sipping his coffee. So, I continued.

“Once we accept his mercy and grace, we start to feel like a new person. Scripture explains it perfectly.”

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Tell that mountain, that burden you wrote down, “Behold, the new has come!” Scripture continues, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18).

“Our sin debt has been reconciled. The debt has been covered.” I explained, “It’s not to be carried around anymore; it’s gone.”

“Did you know when Jesus was crucified, the Romans hung a sign on the cross above his head that read, ‘This is Jesus, the king of the Jews’? We are told to nail our burdens to the cross just like that sign,” I said. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

“I understand,” he said, “I feel this way because I’m carrying around all this extra sin and regret which Jesus died for. As long as I have faith in him as my Lord and Savior, I can nail all that burden to the cross to die so I can live my new life in Jesus Christ.”

“I believe you’re on the right track,” I said, smiling. “The book of Colossians sums up what we’ve been talking about.”

“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:13-15).

“Thank you for the conversation … and the coffee,” he said, as we parted ways. “I have a lot to think about.”

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