10 Jul The Weight of the World

The sunset was a picturesque mixture of orange, yellow, and red hues spanning over the horizon. My husband and I stood hand-in-hand gazing at the waves of the Atlantic ocean lapping against the shore in Corolla, N.C. It was a beautiful moment of peaceful togetherness and we were both silent for a moment, drinking it in.

The moment of beauty and stillness seemed to be shattered as soon as my husband asked me, “So, what’s on your mind?” News headlines, phone conversations, and internal struggles rushed into my mind and pressed tears from my eyes.

The question was loaded and he knew it, but he also knew I had come to that beautiful beach moment weighed down and in love desired to lift the weights from my shoulders.

I began to pour out my internal struggles and laments and he listened patiently for some time. After he knew I had finished he quietly said, “Laura, you can’t bear the pain of the whole world. Only Jesus can.“

He was right, of course, and God’s Spirit within me seemed to shout out with an affirmative to his words. Just a few weeks before during a time of prayer God had quickened his invitation once more to my heart: “Come to me, all you 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).

There Jesus was, asking me once again to give my burdens to him. “The world is in chaos,” my heart said. “I, yes, I am the Lord and there is no Savior but me,” (Isaiah 43:11) His Spirit replied. “The country is in pain,” I lamented. “I am the Healer,” (Exodus 15:26) He replied.

I didn’t need to look at my social media news feed for the tenth time that day to know that the world is still in trouble or that the nation appears to be hemorrhaging with turmoil and sickness and sin. But I do need to look to the Cross. I do need to walk the road to Golgotha again and remember again that Jesus took the weight of the sins of the world on his shoulders and it is a task only He could bear.

I do need to read Revelation 5 again and remember that there was only one found worthy to open the scroll and loose its seals.

There is much I can do, of course, as I seek to partner with His Spirit’s work in the world. And there is work that He has perfectly fitted for my shoulders to bear. But I need to recognize where I have tried to carry weights I simply can’t carry and where I haven’t been as good about setting boundaries with the information and images I allow to dominate my mind and heart.

How about you, friend? No one can deny that we are walking through times more painful and tumultuous on multiple levels than our country has faced in decades. There are godly burdens you are certainly meant to carry in this season. There is good work that God has perfectly fitted for your hands. And yet there are also burdens that God is calling you to cast upon Him. Otherwise, those burdens will crush you.

Now, perhaps in a more focused way, we need to be careful and discerning about what we are ingesting mentally and emotionally. We need to meditate on God’s Word and remember, even through our lamentations and intercessions, that “… this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:21-24).

Lord Jesus, our hope is in you. Help us to discern the burdens you are calling us to bear and release to you those weights that we aren’t meant to carry. Help us to cast our anxieties on you and joyfully set our hands to the good work you have called us to today. Fill us with joy, hope, and faith in the Holy Spirit that we might be agents of light, love and hope in this world.