I shouldn’t be feeling this way! These things shouldn’t be happening to me! Life stinks! I want one thing, but do another! I love, but am not loved! I fight, but do not win! I work hard, but get no where! I look up, but it’s cloudy! Is it just me?
The answer to this, and many of the pending questions in life is found as I live not as I want, but as Christ lives through me. Even as I’ve written this I’m reminded of how much I’m still learning. Trusting Christ as my life is an act of obedience with every step.
It’s trusting the Truth in Christ and recognizing the lies from satan that bring misery and bondage. It’s making it all about me and my circumstances instead of Him and His control of my circumstances. For when I live through His Truth, He receives the glory.
How many times have you opened a gift and tossed the packaging away only to learn there was more! Well, there is MORE! How often I forget that along with the gift of salvation came Christ as life! It’s rarely noticed until something happens greater than we (I) can bear, but the measure of this extends throughout my very existence — second of every minute.
Cast all your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22
You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. Psalm 18:35-36
When life gets heavy, so heavy in fact it feels all-consuming, the answer to the pending question is yes, it is just me! God has commanded me to give it to Him to carry. His shoulders are broad and strong and not just for the moment — instead He expects me to heave my burden onto Him. Why? Because He can handle it – will handle it – promises to handle it – with ease. Remember, His yoke and burden are light (Matthew 11:30)!
So, why do I feel like it’s just me all the time? Well, it’s likely because it’s the devil’s idea. A bunch of lies! Because of who I am, to whom I belong and through whom I live, it is not normal for me to carry my own weight. When I choose to carry my own burdens, I am choosing to live life outside of Christ — independence from the One who lives in me! And this, my friend, is sin (Romans 14:23).