Burdens are a part of life. We all have our burdens to bear, no matter whether we’re rich or poor, young or old, the color of our skin, or whether we are saved or lost. Sorrow and trouble come alike to everyone, because burdens respect no one. Life places burdens on all of us: sorrow, tragedy, affliction, loss, disappointment, and death are all common realities.
Just as the sun rises on both evil and good, and the rain falls on both the just and unjust, Matthew 5:45, so burdens affects us all.
Burdens come in a large variety, some less intrusive while others literally take our breath away.
Webster’s defines a burden as something that is carried, which is usually heavy, but the weight is more a figure of speech, because of the emotional toll it produces which can be quite weighty, such as bearing the burden of a death, disability, sickness, disease, debt, and guilt to name a few.
How can we successfully bear life’s burdens?
To help us in the process, let me give one of God’s great promises of giving us both rest and joy through the burdens we bear.
“For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.” (Jeremiah 31:25)
The Bible tells us to consider the ways and wisdom of the ant, Proverbs 6:6.
One day while studying ants, a biologist saw an ant carrying a piece of straw much larger than itself. When the ant came to a crack that was too wide to cross with the piece of straw, the ant then laid the piece of straw across the crack and proceeded to walk across it. The ant then picked the straw back up and continued on its way.
The ant turned its burden into a bridge, which is exactly what the Lord wants for us to do. He wants us to take these burdens we bear and turn them into bridges for greater spiritual maturity.
Pastor Lee will be looking at Jesus being the Bread of Life this Sunday morning at 10 a.m. at Living Waters Fellowship.
