Exchanging Burdens for Peace

I was in a foul mood. I woke up grumpy, my cell phone dinging at me and dragging me out of a dream that was more of a nightmare. I stood and stared into the fridge, hoping something that resembled breakfast would make itself known. No such luck. My hair looked like someone had attacked me with an immersion blender while I slept. How does that happen?

The day didn’t get any better. I was reading the most boring business book ever for a class I was taking. Bonanza was preempted for a speech by the President. I was out of my favorite tea.

I felt burdened. I was carrying a heavy load, and even my posture showed it in my slumped shoulders and slouchy back. There was nothing major, not one particular item of concern that weighed me down. It was the accumulation of small things, silly things, which I allowed to rob me of joy.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the God who is our salvation.

Psalm 68:19

God is present and willing to bear our burdens. He already did everything necessary for salvation, and now he is willing to daily bear our burdens. In the midst of my grumpy day, not once did I turn to him and give him my burdens. I kept them to myself, and allowed the weight that I didn’t have to carry to cause me pain and steal my joy. How foolish is that?!

Earlier in the same chapter of Psalms we are told that God is everything we need. He embodies whatever it is we lack:

A father to the fatherless and a judge for the widows is God in his holy habitation. God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity. Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land. Psalm 68:5-6

Did you catch that last part? Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land. That’s where I was hanging out, in a parched land. No refreshing water. No green grass or still water. Just desert. The sad thing is that it was a desert of my own choosing. When we rebel against God we rebel against the love and care he has for us. The only person we hurt is us.

God is present. He wants to bear our burdens, your burdens, my burdens, daily. He is accessible to us, and is the answer to every need. We can draw near to him, knowing that he wants good things for us.

Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help us in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

If you are suffering today, walking through a desert of your own making, stop. If your desert is bigger than you can handle, and you’re not sure how you got there, sit down. God is here. Draw near to him. Give him your burden. Let him carry it. He can handle it. Burdens that cripple us are light to him.

Now may the Lord of peace himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance.

The Lord be with you all! 2 Thessalonians 3:16

A Good Night's Sleep

We have become a generation of people who are obsessed with safety.  From the time our children are born, we work to keep them safe.  We measure the distance between the slats in their crib.  We buy the right car seat and have someone teach us how to install it properly.  We teach them about “stranger danger”.  Never are they allowed to get on a bicycle without the admonition to “put your helmet on!”

While there is nothing wrong with this, it does create the illusion that if we do all of these things, we will be safe.  The problem with this is that there will always be something we miss, something just outside of our control, something that never occurred to us.  When we depend on our own actions and devices, safety is an illusion.  Just when we begin to feel secure, we forget that it may well be that a drunk driver has gotten behind the wheel of a car, the tornado season hits, or a fanatic gets on an airplane.

“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”  Psalm 4:8

The key to actually being safe rests with trust in God alone.  Only He knows the future.  Only He controls the wind. In His hand alone do we rest.  Understanding this creates a great deal of freedom and peace for the believer.  Because we understand that God in His very nature is good and trustworthy, and because we know that He causes all things to work together for our good, we can relax and enjoy this adventure called life.  Whatever we go through, we can rest in peace because we know that we are secure in Him.  Whatever life brings, we will not face it alone, and when it ends, eternity is secured for us.

As we continue to remind our kids to put a helmet on, we can also remind them to take chances, to risk rejection, to love others, to share the love of God with those around them.  We can lead by example, well rested, and at peace.

         Note: Last week we talked about life verses. I would love it if you would share yours with me and my readers. We can encourage each other!