Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have
made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. Isaiah 46:4
Our first response when things
start going wrong is to try to fix them as fast as possible, and if we can’t
then we find someone who can. Then we might pray about it and ask God to wave
His magic wand and make it all go away.
The truth is that the Lord will not just wave our burdens away. God is
never surprised by what happens in our lives and if we believe that everything
happens for a purpose, we believe that there is purpose in the hard experiences
too.
This past Sunday Sam talked about the Levites
who were divided into three family groups that were responsible for
transporting the tabernacle in the wilderness. There were oxen and wagons
divided between the family groups for the purpose of transporting all the heavy
stuff like the furniture. One of the
family groups did not get any wagons or oxen at all. Their job was the most
important one of all, to transport the ark of the covenant, the very presence
of God. This was the most important job and they got nothing to help them. It
seemed unfair, but the carts and oxen were distributed according to the burden
each group had to bear. The ark was set on poles and the men in this family
group carried the poles on their shoulder.
They may not have had the oxen and wagons
like everyone else, but they had the presence of God right on their shoulder. Sometimes
what we think is a burden is actually a blessing because it is all about perception.
It may not seem like a blessing while you are going through it, but God has a
purpose and it is directly tied to you becoming who God wants you to be. Yes, burdens we bear make us who we are as we
learn and grow under the pressure. If
you are in the middle of something and you wonder why on earth God isn’t moving
or nothing is changing, you can trust that God is doing something. Every single aspect of our lives is connected
and in agreement with the whole of our lives.
They all come together to make our story and they all have a distinct
purpose because God does not waste anything in our lives. He uses everything - every sin, every wrong
thing done to us and against us, every tragedy, every heartache, as well as
every joy, victory, and delight.
God gives us exactly what we need to carry
our burdens. He knows what is best for us and if He needs to keep something
from us, He will. There may be times when He needs to keep something from us because
He knows that if we had it, we would not trust Him the way He wants us to. Some people believe they shouldn’t have any burdens
because God loves them and surely He wants them to be happy. He does want us to
be happy, but He wants us to be holy above all else. The sure path to becoming holy
is straight through the fire. Through the tough times in life we grow stronger,
we grow more compassionate to others who experience burdens, and we grow closer
to God. If we had the oxen and the wagons, we wouldn’t lean on Him as much. We don’t realize how much we need Him when
life is going well. Burdens keep us tethered to Him.
What is your
perspective today? What burden are you
bearing wondering when it will ever be lifted?
God is doing something, and it may be in your heart so try praying differently. Instead of asking God why this is happening
and praying for Him to take it away, ask Him to show you what He wants you to
learn. Ask Him to change YOU and your
heart and trust Him in the hard times and rest in His power and sovereignty. He is weak when we are strong, and He will
give us everything we need to endure.
