Carrying More Than We Need

As I sat in the surgery waiting to hear news of my mother's knee replacement surgery, I thought about the wondrous machine that is our bodies. Of all the parts of our body that amaze me, the knees are the most fascinating. Each carrying 7x its weight, the knees are the structural workhorses of our bodies. Knees allow us to walk, jump, bend, stoop and even sit. Without knees, our legs would have nothing holding the upper and lower leg together making it virtually impossible to move about.

Turns out that we have different sized knee joints. In a knee replacement, there are 8 sizes available, ranging from very large to very small. On a scale from 1-8, my mom is a size 3.

Anyone who has seen my mom, however, would never think her knee is a size "3". She is carrying the weight of someone with a size 6 or 7 knee. Her knees are carrying more than they can handle, and after 60 years of carrying that load, they have given out and must be replaced.

The same is true with us in life. God has designed us to carry a certain sized load, but we take on more than He ever intended and as a result, our spiritual ability to walk and move about becomes difficult at times. We lose our enthusiasm for life and the passion that God has deposited in us to carry out His purpose in the earth. We amble about clumsily from one thing from another without a clear sense of direction or purpose and eventually, we quake, tremble and fall under the weight of it all.

So what do we do with all this extra weight? Well, the Bible gives three examples of how to handle it:

The first is found in Galatians 6:2. Paul exhorts the believers at the church in Galatia to bear one another's burdens. Found in the context of restoring a brother/sister overtaken in sin, Paul tells the church that those who are more spiritually mature to restore him/her in love, being careful not to think more highly of themselves than they ought. In other words, we are to seek the counsel and support of those mature in the faith. We should seek out wise counsel and submit to the reconciliation/restorative process in letting go of the sin that has caused our burden. Whether it is unforgiveness, bitterness, lying, sexual sin or addiction, we should seek help from the church. And the church should be prepared to love us back to wholeness, maintaining a posture of humility realizing that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

As I struggle with my physical weight, I constantly have to enlist the help of family and friends to hold me accountable in my goals. My family checks in with me every week to see have I reached my weekly eating and exercise goals. My husband is my workout partner and helps me to be consistent with my workouts. It takes a community to help us overcome some of our burdens. Share the load.

The second example is found in Hebrews 12:1 in which the author instructs us to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us and run with endurance. Here, we are instructed to evaluate and eradicate. This requires us to take stock of our choices and decision making process. We have to look at the responsibilities we have taken on and evaluate whether or not these activities are helping our hindering our walk with Christ. Every weight is not sin. Sometimes, we take on duties and responsibilities that are noble causes; however, for us it is a weight that God has not designed us to carry, at least not at this season in our lives.

I remember when I was asked to serve on a local board for a public organization. The meetings were monthly, and it seemed like something I could handle and fit into my schedule. However, as time went on, the demands of the organization grew, and what started out as a monthly two hour meeting, quickly became an all consuming daily list of tasks to complete. While I loved the organization and its mission and goals, I realized that this was a weight that was pulling me away from the things that God had assigned for me to do. I had to make a decision to lay it aside and resign from the board. A pastor of mine once said to me, "There are many good things for you to do in life. Your challenge is the find the God-thing for your life and pursue that and that alone." Find your God-thing and lay aside Every.Thing. Else.


Finally, 1 Peter 5:6-7 tells us to submit ourselves to God and cast all of our cares on Him for He cares for us. When we realize that we have a loving and caring Father in heaven who longs to take on our burdens and concerns, we can go to Him in prayer and lay our worries at His feet. As my husband always says, we have to dismantle ourselves as little "god-players". Recognize that we cannot save anyone--not evey ourselves. That is God's job. Our job is to pray and point others to Jesus. Once we embrace this truth, we can free ourselves of a lot of stress and worry as we cast (throw off, jettison, push away) all of our cares and concerns--for our lives and others--onto Him and allow Him to do what only He can.

I realized sitting in that waiting room that I cannot force my mother to change. This was a battle that she has to fight. As my heart quaked within me and the overwhelming sense of responsibility settled on me, I found myself falling to my knees under the weight of it all. I then heard Jesus say to me, "Finally, you are in the posture I've been trying to get you in all along. That of prayer."

Until the Divas meet again, may your burdens place you in the position of prayer as you allow God to make your heart light.

Sincerely,

Pastor J-
The Divine Diva