No one is immune to trouble.
Job 5:7 but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.
For some reason, we tend to walk around in Christian circles believing that no one else struggles with the same challenges we have. Or that no one is dealing with sin like we do. We bury our real and true selves under a façade of fake smiles and trite expressions when in reality the moment we share that we really have had a bad day, or week and the other person smiles in relief with a “me too!”
If we are to bear each other’s burdens, there is a sacrifice that must be made. And make no mistake we are to do just this, but sometimes we underestimate the weight of that burden.
Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
I don’t know about you but when I read the headlines of the latest news broadcast and check in on Facebook to see the latest child abduction post, political rhetoric from all sides, and just the debauchery that exists in our world, I find my mind goes to a very negative place. Add in the prayer requests and needs of those who have lost loved ones, who are fighting the vicious monster cancer, and yet others who bear unbelievable heartache and heartbreak, it’s easy to believe that life is just too much.
In these times I am reminded that while I am told to bear each other’s burden, I am not doing any of this alone. As a matter of fact, the One who has given me my purpose and job to do here on this earth has already told me His yoke is easy and his burden is light!
Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
How can this be, when there is so much to be weighed down with that is just what’s outside of me? When I add the weight of the sin I struggle against, the unexpected bad news I hear, or the prayers I pray for my own family – I must immediately turn to the One who knows, sees and hears all. Laying my burdens and cares at His feet is the ONLY way that I can move forward in this life and help care for others in the way that they need from me. Just a few verses before He tells us His yoke is easy, He tells us in vs. 28
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
The enemy is crafty –he seeks to steal our joy in a multitude of ways, including the words that others say or don’t say, the pressure he applies to those walking outside God’s protection, and the rampant sin at work in our world. All of this combine to bear much weight on the Christian and even more so the Christian in ministry – because we feel those things so keenly. My heart literally hurts physically when I know that others who I care about, or who entrust me with their cares and woes need my support and prayer. Speaking and ministering at conferences can weigh me down quite literally where I need to rest for several days after. Writing and laboring over words that others need to hear can be physically exhausting because of the spiritual battle that is also taking place. Physical rest becomes necessary because of the mental, emotional and spiritual battles taking place.
This is why I sympathize for those in any position of Christian ministry and for their families. The weight they bear is heavier than we can know. The weight of their knowledge can be unfathomable. The hits in ministry continue without an end in sight.
If you’re not in ministry, you still know the weight. As women we bear these burdens as well. Burdens for our family, our friends, and our church. The Christian life MUST be lived in our consistent walk in the Word. The consistent practice of filling our minds with the words of Christ, then combined with the act of submission in prayer leaving the burdens we bear at the feet of the only One able to carry them for us. If we avoid this, or underestimate its importance, we run the risk that our minds will be filled with the difficult news, the negative attitudes and the disappointing and sorrow filled headlines that scream for our attention. And the truth is what we fill our minds with becomes what we live out in our lives.
This morning I read in Hebrews 12 and I continued thinking through this further. This is part of the race we run. See vs. 1,2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
And then further vs. 12-14
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
All of this rests squarely on our understanding that He is the source. The Holy Spirit power that resides in each of us at salvation.
Our hope truly rests in Him today. Without Him we can do nothing, and as much as we think we can carry our burdens on our own, we will fail miserably.
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
If we can’t bear our own burdens in our own strength how can we even begin to think that we can bear the burdens of others as we are commanded in Scripture?
Obedience follows obedience and our comfort and peace are in Him alone. While we cannot live in a vacuum and avoid the bad news or negative spirits around us, we can and must prioritize the place of His Word and prayer and meditation in our lives above the other noise.
Many years ago I had fostered a small dream of one day making a living composing music and being published. I worked up the courage to complete a song, record it and send it in to a nationwide songwriting contest and waited for my critique to return. I say worked up the courage because frankly sending anything out to be critiqued is a frightful prospect for me!
This particular year had been and would continue to be a very dark time for us personally. We struggled greatly, and God was consistently answering "no" to our urgent prayers. It was a season of darkness, and I struggled to find my footing.
I was recently talking on Facebook with a college friend. She has had some very grave trials in her married life and she is just starting to take up her music again. She is a talented singer, pianist and teacher. It reminded me of a dark time in my life, when it seemed like that thing that I loved so much, music, and writing music, made no sense anymore. My writing was dark, and not hopeful, and I stopped composing. I stopped playing because it just felt fake.
I wonder have you been there? Have you encountered a time maybe when your joy was less than full and the thing that you loved brought you more pain than happiness? My musical journey has been more painful than anything, and yet it's still something that I have invested a lot of time and energy in. God has blessed in amazing ways but not always the way I wanted him to.