I know…I know… most of us are probably feeling a bit “overweight” right now having indulged in a feast or two as we celebrated Thanksgiving a few days ago. If you’re like me…you now probably are wondering if you’ll be able to control your “hand to mouth motion” over the next few weeks as you try to resist all the home-made Christmas goodies that both family and friends will be giving us to eat…even more pounds to lose…Yikes!
I don’t have to think too long on any of these delicious but diet killing thoughts before I find myself “weighed down” with a lot more than just a couple of extra pounds. No, these simple but “worrisome” thoughts always invite their family and friends… then all too soon I’m hosting a huge party whose only guests are “worries, fears and dread”…Oh my!
Suddenly, I’m no longer looking at only “how to resist Christmas treats” but have somehow just added on several bigger difficulties I struggle with. Double Yikes! I have quickly become buried under the weight of "everything" that this life brings which is difficult to do or is too heavy to bear!
Which brings me to this…I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how it “feels” to be weighed down by all the hard stuff this life brings. When I have been overcome by life’s hardships and difficulties I can actually feel heaviness lay over me…a very noticeable weight over my whole being. I’ve also noticed this same kind of “heaviness” in others who are experiencing a “too heavy to carry” burden(s) in their lives or the lives of loved ones.
Although I know better…I still sometimes take a “problem”…lifting the weight of it onto my shoulders when it seems light enough for me to do so and I’ll carry it around with me. If the problem doesn’t go away “quick enough”…perhaps I’ll try some “unfocused” prayers for its resolution…but, for the most part… I just carry it around with me. If the problem remains (longer than a day) I can even become so accustom to its weight that I will begin to ignore the harm it is causing me. So... like a fork to mashed potatoes with gravy on a full stomach… I ignore my “discomfort” and allow this “problem” to be joined with “worry”. These two together…grow heavy and before I know it…“dread” shows up. The problem I started out carrying so easily now has me buckling to the floor under its weight… I’m completely “over” weight and outmatched.
Everyone has something(s) in their lives that has the potential to put them under a body blanket of heaviness that makes them feel like the “weight of the world” is on them. I have found when I have attempted to carry the burdens of life…they weigh me down so severely that they don’t allow me to walk around as the victorious child of God I am! I’ve learned if I don’t stop “eating the troubles” of this world…the weight of them becomes so heavy that I can barely lift my head… there have been some days… I didn’t even want to…
Psalm 68:19 (Amplified Bible)
Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even the God Who is our salvation!
Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
You know… life is hard. Life is not all bad and it’s certainly not all good… but one thing I think is also true…even the good and fun stuff this life will bring… comes to us with at least a “pound of hard” somewhere in it. Concerning the hardships God’s children endure here on earth Charles Stanley explains;
"Some things are so important to God that they are worth interrupting the happiness and health of His children in order to accomplish them.”
I can chose to try and “pick up and eat” all this hard stuff and get weighed down and discouraged by life’s “unfairness”…or allow God to show me what it is He would have me do. I think He simply wants me to trust Him for what He has placed on my “plate” from the table of burdens. My portion has been carefully measured and is the perfect amount according to what God desires to accomplish in me.
In fact…the Lord doesn’t expect me to carry my “plate” and He doesn’t want you to carry yours either…Jesus will not only carry all the weight of this world…but He carries you and me too.
Genesis 18:14 (NIV) Is anything too hard for the LORD?
You know…for me… when I give the Lord all the “hard stuff” this life brings…I find He makes the good and fun things a bit sweeter… mmmmm, sounds like dessert!
Kathy
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About Me
- thirddayfaith
- My life in Christ came a bit late in life.I grew up in a Christian home and was baptized at age 9. I enjoyed a long career as a flight attendant (1973-2005). I met my husband Brad, in 1984 while living in Tampa Florida. At the time, we both were living a lifestyle that was not pleasing to the Lord. We married in 1986, but it wasn't until early 1992 that I knew the Lord was calling me to Him. God placed this same desire in my husband's heart. As Brad and I grew in faith, so did our desire to serve God in ministry. In late 2002 we moved to Virginia Beach where the Lord called Brad to serve as a Worship minister. In 6 short months, Brad was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I found my greatest moments of weakness came when I placed my thoughts on all the things that could go wrong and allowed fear to take hold. We were given 5 more years to share together. God is faithful and to His glory I serve Him through writing devotionals and inspirational article for this blog as well as a published writer with the writing team of A Widow's Might ministry. Our Devotional Books are titled: "For The Love of Her Life". I am also an Inspirational Speaker.
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