What gets lugged into each day?

 

Since Piper’s devotional for today was the last of a long one split into three days, I had another look at what Callaway had to say in his little book. He hit me with his description of taking too much stuff in his golf bag and how that was ruining his game. 

“I’ve got the full set, plus a driving iron. I’ve got an oversized 1-wood named Bertha and a ball retriever in case she misfires. My pockets are heavy with coins and ball markers and tees and car keys. The mosquitos where I live show up on radar screens, so I throw in a generous bottle of repellant. And sunscreen. And Band-Aids. One can’t be over-prepared, so I bring along bottled water, aspirin, and a knife that doubles as a club head cleaner, a cleat tightener, a bottle-top remover, and an alarm clock. I keep an extra jacket in my bag, too. Rain pants. An umbrella. Club head covers. And a coupon book that expired last September. Lugging all these accessories around the course made the rounds miserable, so I bought a small pull-cart to help me. Now I have a place to carry two more pop cans, the scorecard, four tees, and some extra pencils. If this continues, I’ll have to buy another cart.”

Of course this relates to life. While he compared it to “picking up a load of fear” and filling his mind with concerns he was not meant to bear, I compared it to my to-do list. Today it has a shopping errand, some laundry, email to answer, update two blogs, send a gift to someone, purge the storage room, read portions of three books, work on two quilts, plus the usual meals and household chores not listed. Never mind any interruptions, phone calls, or other things not written down that might pop up. Yikes.

Yesterday’s sermon was from this familiar passage:

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38–42)

I’ve always considered myself a ‘Mary’ but see how easily I slip into being “anxious and troubled about many things.” Even if I never forget to have devotions, how many times do I really listen to Jesus before starting anything else? The pastor stressed the importance of choosing the best portion before doing even the good things on our agenda. For me, it was helpful because seeking His will makes a difference in how the day goes. For one thing, it seems longer, and I make less mistakes. However, he also said that listening is not just waiting for my turn to talk or to make excuses for not having time to listen.

Callaway’s writing pushes me to consider that long list. What does Jesus say about it? Is some of it not important or non-essential? Am I burdening myself with extras ‘just in case’ rather than trusting Him for whatever might come up?

Of course lunch had to be made. The doing of it was not Martha’s problem. He spoke to her about her anxiety and attitude toward her work. Mary was being settled by taking instruction first. She no doubt helped Martha after that, but not before listening to the One who wants His servants to be at peace and find joy in all that we do.

PRAY: Thank You Jesus for all that You teach me. I sit and listen at church, yet know that listening ought to be a 24/7 attitude. You want me to know what You know and think how You think about everything, not just my list. Who knows… You might take things off it or even add things to it, but at the end of the day, knowing I’ve listened to You and followed Your instructions results in great rewards for making that choice.

Finding Rest. . .

Sunday is supposedly a day of rest. I’m thinking that it isn’t always. Some people must work or lose their job. Pastors and church leaders might be ‘resting on the inside’ but they are not idle. In our church with a massive crowd for brunch each week, the volunteers who prepare the food and those who set up, and those who clean up are busy working. We also have friends that see needs and their mantra is, “I’ve got to do something” regardless of the day.

Some time ago God used a word search to enrich this passage:

Come to me, all 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 are two ‘burdens’ in these verses. The first is ‘heavy laden’ and the original Greek word refers to a large cargo that is by no means easy to carry. The second one is translated from a different Greek word and basically refers to the invoice that is attached to the cargo.

The contrast is evident; when Jesus wants me to do something, it will not wear me to the bone but be relatively easy. Why? Because when it is from Him and done in reliance upon Him, the Holy Spirit is involved and while my efforts may require muscle, they will not be wearisome. I will not feel like I’ve been carrying a big load.

Piper quotes Lamentations 3:22–23: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Then he adds, “With every day’s measure of pain, he gives new mercies. . . .  God’s mercies are new every morning because each day has enough mercy in it only for that day. This is why we tend to despair when we think that we may have to bear tomorrow’s load on today’s resources. God wants us to know that we won’t. Today’s mercies are for today’s troubles. Tomorrow’s mercies are for tomorrow’s troubles.”

Isn’t that true? Instead of being concerned with today’s invoice, I can get overloaded with tomorrow’s to-do list. I can worry if I don’t know what to expect, or if I think my burden will weigh more than my time or energy can handle. It is easy to forget that Jesus isn’t into letting His people carry more than we can handle — like two day’s problems in one day, or tomorrow’s issues all night, both robbers of energy and forgetting the lessons from manna in the wilderness. (Exodus 16)

Jesus supplies what I need for today. This is not only a day of rest but a day of worship and fellowship with His family. He will fill my heart with joyful worship as long as I kick out plans for the afternoon, or what to have for supper, or what is on my calendar for Monday, or all next week’s responsibilities. He wants me to experience the delight of His faithfulness and new mercies on this day and entrust tomorrow and the future to Him, including the future of what is going on in this world, what is lacking, how many family members we have that have not yet said yes to Him, or anything else that piles a burden on my mind. Focus on Him is incredibly restful.

PRAY: Jesus, I get tired when I take on a burden that is not from You. Or when I try to deal with obligations that are not going to hit me until next week. Planning ahead isn’t wrong, but letting the future become a burden indicates I’m not listening to You and definitely not resting in You. Forgive me. This kind of thinking is fleshy and sinful. Today I come to learn from You and to rest — with just the invoice.

 

God’s Burdens vs. our burdens

Note: The word BEAR was a focus on January 12 for God bearing burdens. I must have needed to hear it again. Today, this time looking at my BURDENS compared to His!

The biblical history of human burdens began in the Garden of Eden even though that term was not used. After the first two people disobeyed God, He said to Eve she would experience pain in childbirth and conflict with her husband. He said to Adam:

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:17–19)

Ever since then, humanity struggles with the weight of men distrusting and not wanting to listen to women, with the weight of earning a living, and with the weight of impending death. Add to this the weight of sin — defined as ‘like sheep who have gone astray, turning each to his own way’ instead of living as God intended. This is a burden, even for those who do not realize it or feel it without having the way of the Lord to compare it with.

The first use of BURDEN describes the people of God enslaved to hard labor in Egypt. There God said to Moses:

Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (Exodus 6:6–7)

But the people did not listen “because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery” — and God sent plagues and all sorts of harshness until the people did listen and the Egyptian Pharaoh was willing to release them. Even though he changed his mind and went after them, God set them free.

This event depicts what God offers to all humanity: freedom from spiritual slavery to sin. Many will deny this is a problem, but the psalmist realized it. He said: “For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.” (Psalm 38:4)

These words show that the writer discovered God’s BURDENS are nothing compared to that heavy burden of sin and guilt. Here is what Jesus had to say:

Come to me, all 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)

I once read that the word for our burden is like a heavy load impossible to lift, but the burden that Jesus offers the word used for the invoice on the load! I cannot verify that in Greek but can verify it in experience and from this other declaration from God:

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. (1 John 5:3–4)

Yesterday I slipped into trying to bear my own burdens. Loss of my nephew, Covid hitting family members with one cousin dying from it, the constant barrage of statistics about death and distressing political situations — and a sore hip and a general sense of depression. It was too heavy for me. Then along comes Jesus and lifts them off with His promises and truths about who He is and what He can do. Yoked with Him is easy, light, and nothing compared to trying to do things my own way.

It seems the human default mode is “do it my way.” We are born selfish, wanting what I want ‘right now’ as we cry for food and comfort. Some are pampered by doting parents who give into every demand. Some are told, “You can do whatever you want” supposedly to encourage ambition. Some of us learn the hard way that a independent and selfish attitude eventually leads to a big empty hole in our hearts. We try filling it with all sorts of stuff — and most of it turns out to be heavy and burdensome.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Compare what He asks of me with what He does for me! His yoke is nothing compared to His promises and the wonder of what He does. “He keeps me in perfect peace as my mind is fixed on Him, because I am trusting in Him” (Isaiah 26:3) is a big part of it!