Saturday, June 20, 2020
Bearing Burdens
We all bear burdens on our pilgrimage through this weary and wearying world. Sometimes these are burdens of temptation, when we feel the world, the flesh, and the devil arrayed against us, luring and enticing us toward some sinful thought or depraved deed. Sometimes these are burdens of guilt as we think back to a sin we committed and we grieve our folly, grieve our inner disposition away from what is good and toward what is evil. Sometimes these are burdens of physical pain as we suffer the effects of living as mortal beings whose bodies are ravaged by time, age, and illness. In all these ways and so many more we go through life burdened by heavy weights that may be physical, emotional, relational, financial, spiritual.
I wonder if you are being pressed or crushed by such a weight even today. Perhaps you are asking what you can do and how you can bear up under it. What actions should you take when you feel the tremendous weight of such a burden? The Bible provides three instructions.
First, you must bear your burden. Galatians 6:5 says, “each will have to bear his own load.” While there are some burdens you may share with others, there are some that you will have to bear alone. You may long for someone to come to you, someone to shoulder at least a portion of it, someone to help you when you are bowed down with the great load you are being forced to carry. But sometimes help does not come. Sometimes your pleas are not answered. Sometimes you must stagger along unassisted under even the heaviest weights. Ultimately, no one else can live your life for you. Philip Ryken says, “There is a weight that every person must carry—the weight of our own personal responsibility before God.” No one can have faith for you. No one else can become holy for you. No one else can do justice and love mercy and walk humbly with God on your behalf. You must accept the burden and bear it faithfully, even if you must bear it alone.
But then, second, you may share your burden. While you must bear it, you may share it, for as Galatians 6:2 commands, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” While we most often understand this as an admonition for the strong to seek out the weak, we may as easily see it as an invitation for the weak to seek out the strong. You may find a Christian brother or sister who will shoulder that load with you through encouragement, through prayer, through speaking precious truths. Indeed, it is both a duty and an honor for Christians to help other Christians while they suffer under life’s heavy burdens. As we do so, we fulfill the law of Christ and we imitate Christ who so perfectly exemplified this command: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). J.R. Miller says rightly that while “no one can do our duty for us, or take our load of suffering … human friendship can put strength into our heart to make us better able to do or to endure.”
Then, third, you should cast your burden. You must bear it, you may share it, you should cast it. Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” When you are weary and burdened, God is always available to help. He may not remove that burden from you, but he will certainly straighten your spine and shore you up as you carry it. God may not make you able to bear your burden without pain, but he will make you able to bear it with joy. Just as he sustained his people as they wandered the wilderness, so he will sustain you through your wilderness. Just as God provided for their every need, so he will provide for yours. “Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell” (Nehemiah 9:21). God will not withhold from you anything you need to bear your burden well. J.R. Miller says, “Our burden is that which God has given to us. It may be duty; it may be struggle and conflict; it may be sorrow; it may be our environment. But whatever it is—it is that which He has given us, and we may cast it upon the Lord.”
Weighty and painful burdens are an inevitable, inescapable fact of life in this world. We will all receive heavy loads and we must all bear them, even if at times they seem impossibly large. But when we feel them sink into our shoulders, when we feel our spines compress, when we feel our legs grow tired, when we feel we cannot take another staggering step, we cannot and must not despair, for God has told us what we must do, what we may do, and what we should do.
Inspired in part by A Life of Character by J.R. Miller
I wonder if you are being pressed or crushed by such a weight even today. Perhaps you are asking what you can do and how you can bear up under it. What actions should you take when you feel the tremendous weight of such a burden? The Bible provides three instructions.
First, you must bear your burden. Galatians 6:5 says, “each will have to bear his own load.” While there are some burdens you may share with others, there are some that you will have to bear alone. You may long for someone to come to you, someone to shoulder at least a portion of it, someone to help you when you are bowed down with the great load you are being forced to carry. But sometimes help does not come. Sometimes your pleas are not answered. Sometimes you must stagger along unassisted under even the heaviest weights. Ultimately, no one else can live your life for you. Philip Ryken says, “There is a weight that every person must carry—the weight of our own personal responsibility before God.” No one can have faith for you. No one else can become holy for you. No one else can do justice and love mercy and walk humbly with God on your behalf. You must accept the burden and bear it faithfully, even if you must bear it alone.
But then, second, you may share your burden. While you must bear it, you may share it, for as Galatians 6:2 commands, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” While we most often understand this as an admonition for the strong to seek out the weak, we may as easily see it as an invitation for the weak to seek out the strong. You may find a Christian brother or sister who will shoulder that load with you through encouragement, through prayer, through speaking precious truths. Indeed, it is both a duty and an honor for Christians to help other Christians while they suffer under life’s heavy burdens. As we do so, we fulfill the law of Christ and we imitate Christ who so perfectly exemplified this command: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). J.R. Miller says rightly that while “no one can do our duty for us, or take our load of suffering … human friendship can put strength into our heart to make us better able to do or to endure.”
Then, third, you should cast your burden. You must bear it, you may share it, you should cast it. Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” When you are weary and burdened, God is always available to help. He may not remove that burden from you, but he will certainly straighten your spine and shore you up as you carry it. God may not make you able to bear your burden without pain, but he will make you able to bear it with joy. Just as he sustained his people as they wandered the wilderness, so he will sustain you through your wilderness. Just as God provided for their every need, so he will provide for yours. “Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell” (Nehemiah 9:21). God will not withhold from you anything you need to bear your burden well. J.R. Miller says, “Our burden is that which God has given to us. It may be duty; it may be struggle and conflict; it may be sorrow; it may be our environment. But whatever it is—it is that which He has given us, and we may cast it upon the Lord.”
Weighty and painful burdens are an inevitable, inescapable fact of life in this world. We will all receive heavy loads and we must all bear them, even if at times they seem impossibly large. But when we feel them sink into our shoulders, when we feel our spines compress, when we feel our legs grow tired, when we feel we cannot take another staggering step, we cannot and must not despair, for God has told us what we must do, what we may do, and what we should do.
Inspired in part by A Life of Character by J.R. Miller
Monday, June 15, 2020
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Awesome God
In his now-celebrated and controversial speech at a Detroit Church last Sunday, Sen Lieberman spoke of our "awesome God." This is a word that I do not think would be used by anyone who did not know and love the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The New Age gods and spirits of whom we hear so much today are not awesome. They wait to be approached with spiritual techniques; they do not thunder down from Mount Sinai with holy and righteous laws; they do not speak from the whirlwind, as God did to Job; they do not commission Prophets to speak to Kings, as God did through Elijah. The Biblical God speaks, and his Word has the power to bring into being that which it describes: "let there be light!" And there was light".
How real is God to you? Is he as near to you as your front door? Do you know him as a living reality in your heart? Can you recite his awesome deeds, as every believing Israelite could do? Do you know of his justice and mercy proclaimed in the Psalms? Are you thrilled by the words "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one Lord"? There is nothing like the Bible because there is no other God like the God whose Word is alive in it. Let us love the living God; let us praise the living God; let us give glory to the living God. This is what the Church is for. Listen to these wonderful words from Deuteronomy:
"Behold, to the Lord our God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it; yet the Lord set his heart in love upon your father's and chose their descendents after them, you above all peoples, is at this day" (10:14)
Think of it: you are those chosen descendents of the fathers and mothers. You are God's people whom he loves. You have been elected by him to reflect his glory in the world. He lives; He acts; He rules;
O worship the King, all glorious above!
O gratefully sing his power and his love . . .
His mercies, how tender, how true to the end;
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.
How real is God to you? Is he as near to you as your front door? Do you know him as a living reality in your heart? Can you recite his awesome deeds, as every believing Israelite could do? Do you know of his justice and mercy proclaimed in the Psalms? Are you thrilled by the words "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one Lord"? There is nothing like the Bible because there is no other God like the God whose Word is alive in it. Let us love the living God; let us praise the living God; let us give glory to the living God. This is what the Church is for. Listen to these wonderful words from Deuteronomy:
"Behold, to the Lord our God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it; yet the Lord set his heart in love upon your father's and chose their descendents after them, you above all peoples, is at this day" (10:14)
Think of it: you are those chosen descendents of the fathers and mothers. You are God's people whom he loves. You have been elected by him to reflect his glory in the world. He lives; He acts; He rules;
O worship the King, all glorious above!
O gratefully sing his power and his love . . .
His mercies, how tender, how true to the end;
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.
Blessed are the Weak
The Beatitudes of Jesus are meant to shock us in the ways they so consistently counter our instincts and interrupt our inclinations. They commend the meek rather than the assertive; they commend the poor in spirit rather than the self-sufficient; they commend the reproached rather than the praised. The Beatitudes highlight some of the counter-cultural, Spirit-given qualities that God so values in his people.
If Jesus were to add just one more beatitude, perhaps it would be this: Blessed are the weak, for they shall have God’s strength. Though the exact words are not found in Scripture, they communicate a biblical emphasis: those who are weak specially experience the strength of God. For as the Lord said to the Apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” And as Paul declared, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. … For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
“When I am weak, then I am strong.” This is a truth we often see illustrated in common life. A little brother is exhausted at the end of the race, so his big brother lends him his strength—he takes hold of him and carries him to the finish line. A father completes marathons and triathlons with his disabled son, carrying him, pushing him, pulling him, for the young man says that when he competes he doesn’t feel his disability. A group of friends help their wheelchair-bound classmate make a basket, cheering and celebrating his accomplishment.
The heart of a brother, the heart of father, the heart of a friend goes out to those who are afflicted, those who are pitiable, those who have no strength of their own. In this way their weakness is their strength, for it draws the assistance of others. Their weakness is the very quality that makes them strong, for it compels others to rally to their cause, to lend them their abilities, their power, their vigor, their help. Weakness is the secret of their strength.
And just so, God rallies to the cause of those who are weak. Though Paul had prayed that God would remove his “thorn,” he was content to live with it for he knew it made him an object of God’s pity and, therefore, God’s strength. His weakness made him stronger, for because of his weakness God put his arm around his shoulder, God pushed, pulled, and carried him to the finish line, God helped him accomplish what he could not accomplish on his own. Paul’s lack of self-sufficiency was the very reason God exercised such great strength on his behalf.
It is embedded deep within our depraved nature to regard weakness as misfortune, feebleness as failure, lack of physical strength as lack of divine favor. But nothing could be further from the truth, for weakness draws the eye of God, the heart of God, the strength of God. Therefore, with confident expectation do we receive our illnesses, submit in our sorrows, bow to God in our suffering. Rightly do we say, “Blessed are the weak, for they shall have God’s strength!” If there is any secret to our strength, it lies in our weakness.
Inspired by A Life of Character by J.R. Miller
If Jesus were to add just one more beatitude, perhaps it would be this: Blessed are the weak, for they shall have God’s strength. Though the exact words are not found in Scripture, they communicate a biblical emphasis: those who are weak specially experience the strength of God. For as the Lord said to the Apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” And as Paul declared, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. … For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
“When I am weak, then I am strong.” This is a truth we often see illustrated in common life. A little brother is exhausted at the end of the race, so his big brother lends him his strength—he takes hold of him and carries him to the finish line. A father completes marathons and triathlons with his disabled son, carrying him, pushing him, pulling him, for the young man says that when he competes he doesn’t feel his disability. A group of friends help their wheelchair-bound classmate make a basket, cheering and celebrating his accomplishment.
The heart of a brother, the heart of father, the heart of a friend goes out to those who are afflicted, those who are pitiable, those who have no strength of their own. In this way their weakness is their strength, for it draws the assistance of others. Their weakness is the very quality that makes them strong, for it compels others to rally to their cause, to lend them their abilities, their power, their vigor, their help. Weakness is the secret of their strength.
And just so, God rallies to the cause of those who are weak. Though Paul had prayed that God would remove his “thorn,” he was content to live with it for he knew it made him an object of God’s pity and, therefore, God’s strength. His weakness made him stronger, for because of his weakness God put his arm around his shoulder, God pushed, pulled, and carried him to the finish line, God helped him accomplish what he could not accomplish on his own. Paul’s lack of self-sufficiency was the very reason God exercised such great strength on his behalf.
It is embedded deep within our depraved nature to regard weakness as misfortune, feebleness as failure, lack of physical strength as lack of divine favor. But nothing could be further from the truth, for weakness draws the eye of God, the heart of God, the strength of God. Therefore, with confident expectation do we receive our illnesses, submit in our sorrows, bow to God in our suffering. Rightly do we say, “Blessed are the weak, for they shall have God’s strength!” If there is any secret to our strength, it lies in our weakness.
Inspired by A Life of Character by J.R. Miller
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Your Talents
Some people think humility demands that we not find satisfaction in having done a good job. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's actually a Godlike quality. When He had created the heavens and the earth, He looked at it and affirmed that is was very good. What's your normal response when you complete a task? Do you look at it and find pleasure in what you've done? Or do you immediately notice all the ways, sometimes small, almost indistinguishable ways, that you could have done a better job? Your answer may say something about a perspective related to your faith.
After working on creation for six days, God rested on the seventh. He didn’t rest because He was tired. He rested because he was satisfied. The work was finished. His rest was one of fulfillment. It was the abiding peace of a job well done. God took pleasure in what He had done. That's a quality He enjoys seeing in you.
There are different reasons people struggle with finding fulfillment in a job well done. Perfectionists seldom find a sense of satisfaction in what they do. They nitpick themselves and their activities to pieces. The reason is often related to an underlying sense of inadequacy that says, “I must do everything perfect to be okay.” It’s ironic that some people say, “I’m a perfectionist,” almost as if they’re bragging about it. Praying about it would make more sense. Perfectionism is not a virtue. It’s often an indication that the person doesn’t feel secure about his personal value unless what he does is beyond criticism. The problem is that the perfectionist is seldom able to see the well-done-value of what he does because of insecurity. It is an expression of an independent attitude that creates a sense of constant self-condemnation to those enslaved by it. If you see tendencies of a perfectionist’s attitude within yourself, pray about it. Your Father wants to free you from constant self-judgment that refuses to applaud a job well done.
Other people can’t recognize a job well done because of a false sense of humility. Tell them they did well and they’ll dismiss your remark. They’ll point out how they could have, should have, would have done better if things were different. False humility is, ironically, a form of pride. It is prideful because it causes a person to always focus on herself and never be able to celebrate a finished task with a sense of accomplishment.
Do you find yourself shirking off compliments for things you’ve done? If so, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you to respond in grace both inwardly and outwardly. The proper inward response to a compliment is satisfaction and gratitude. The outward response has to be no more complex than a simple, “thank you,” without further explanation or qualification.
God saw what He had done and said, “it is good.” Some might argue, “But I’m not God!” That’s true, but it is God who is always at work in you to “will and to do His good pleasure.” (See Philippians 2:13) The indwelling Christ is living and working through you – whether you’re teaching a Bible study, working at your job, planting a flower garden, or cleaning out your garage. In whatever you do, there’s really no such thing as secular activity when Christ lives through you. He makes everything you do sacred because it’s Him doing it in and through you.
To recognize and appreciate that you’ve done a good job is actually to affirm that Christ is the source of your life and that He expresses Himself in the details of your lifestyle. Learn to celebrate a finished task and appreciate the value of what you’ve done. When you’ve done something good, see it as good!
Jesus even indicated in the Parable of the Talents that when He returns and sees the faithful stewardship you’ve shown with those things He has entrusted to you, He might say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (See Matthew 25) When He speaks those words to you, will you be able to accept them? If you find it hard to acknowledge a job well done now, maybe it would be a good idea to begin to learn to celebrate a job well done.
The proper response to a job well done will do two things: It will honor the One who has given you the ability you possess and it will help you cultivate a more positive attitude about yourself and what you do. Your Father is proud of you, so don’t insult Him by putting yourself or what you’ve done down. Rest in the fulfillment of a job well done and renew your mind. This single act can deepen your sense of fulfillment in life.
Thanks for standing together with us at Grace Walk as we continue to try to do a good job sharing the Father's love around the world.
I appreciate you,
Steve McVey
After working on creation for six days, God rested on the seventh. He didn’t rest because He was tired. He rested because he was satisfied. The work was finished. His rest was one of fulfillment. It was the abiding peace of a job well done. God took pleasure in what He had done. That's a quality He enjoys seeing in you.
There are different reasons people struggle with finding fulfillment in a job well done. Perfectionists seldom find a sense of satisfaction in what they do. They nitpick themselves and their activities to pieces. The reason is often related to an underlying sense of inadequacy that says, “I must do everything perfect to be okay.” It’s ironic that some people say, “I’m a perfectionist,” almost as if they’re bragging about it. Praying about it would make more sense. Perfectionism is not a virtue. It’s often an indication that the person doesn’t feel secure about his personal value unless what he does is beyond criticism. The problem is that the perfectionist is seldom able to see the well-done-value of what he does because of insecurity. It is an expression of an independent attitude that creates a sense of constant self-condemnation to those enslaved by it. If you see tendencies of a perfectionist’s attitude within yourself, pray about it. Your Father wants to free you from constant self-judgment that refuses to applaud a job well done.
Other people can’t recognize a job well done because of a false sense of humility. Tell them they did well and they’ll dismiss your remark. They’ll point out how they could have, should have, would have done better if things were different. False humility is, ironically, a form of pride. It is prideful because it causes a person to always focus on herself and never be able to celebrate a finished task with a sense of accomplishment.
Do you find yourself shirking off compliments for things you’ve done? If so, ask the Holy Spirit to teach you to respond in grace both inwardly and outwardly. The proper inward response to a compliment is satisfaction and gratitude. The outward response has to be no more complex than a simple, “thank you,” without further explanation or qualification.
God saw what He had done and said, “it is good.” Some might argue, “But I’m not God!” That’s true, but it is God who is always at work in you to “will and to do His good pleasure.” (See Philippians 2:13) The indwelling Christ is living and working through you – whether you’re teaching a Bible study, working at your job, planting a flower garden, or cleaning out your garage. In whatever you do, there’s really no such thing as secular activity when Christ lives through you. He makes everything you do sacred because it’s Him doing it in and through you.
To recognize and appreciate that you’ve done a good job is actually to affirm that Christ is the source of your life and that He expresses Himself in the details of your lifestyle. Learn to celebrate a finished task and appreciate the value of what you’ve done. When you’ve done something good, see it as good!
Jesus even indicated in the Parable of the Talents that when He returns and sees the faithful stewardship you’ve shown with those things He has entrusted to you, He might say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (See Matthew 25) When He speaks those words to you, will you be able to accept them? If you find it hard to acknowledge a job well done now, maybe it would be a good idea to begin to learn to celebrate a job well done.
The proper response to a job well done will do two things: It will honor the One who has given you the ability you possess and it will help you cultivate a more positive attitude about yourself and what you do. Your Father is proud of you, so don’t insult Him by putting yourself or what you’ve done down. Rest in the fulfillment of a job well done and renew your mind. This single act can deepen your sense of fulfillment in life.
Thanks for standing together with us at Grace Walk as we continue to try to do a good job sharing the Father's love around the world.
I appreciate you,
Steve McVey
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