Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Broad shoulders equal heavy burdens?

Do you feel like you are about to go under or wish you could go Down Under because the weight of your circumstances have weighted you down so much? You may wonder, 'Why me?' And you may fall back on the thinking that, God must know I can handle this, thus He is laying it on. And yet, in your strength you are experiencing the load to be far beyond the structure-load capacity of your shoulders! But some how you keep plugging away. There may seem to be no end in sight. In some cases this is actually true depending on the trial [no end in sight]...such as illness for which there is no cure, loss that grips in a seemingly eternal hold, permanent disability after an accident.
So how does God chose who gets what? By the 'size' of our shoulders? Not so. The Apostle Paul talks about a trial that was given to him that he "pleaded" with the Lord to take away. This was no nonchalant prayer! Pleading! Have your trials become so intense that you are pleading with the Lord?
Paul's trial is described as a 'messenger of Satan, to torment' him. Paul's prayer was not answered according to his requests. Why was he tormented? Why did God ignore his request? Paul says he was tormented to keep him from becoming conceited! He had been given some amazing revelations and he, as a human being, could have been boastfully impressed with the 'size of his shoulders'. After all, he was especially chosen by God to receive that gift! Has God blessed you with a seemingly greater amount of talents than the 'average' person? God wants ALL the glory. So He may allow a 'messenger of Satan' to torment. [That is just one of the reasons Scripture gives for trials.]
God went on to tell Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness".  It's when we realize how small and tiny our shoulders are, far to small for the heavy burden, that we get to have "Christ's power" to rest on us. HIS are the shoulders that are broad enough to bear the heavy weight of our burdens. "For when I am weak, then I am strong". 2 Cor. 12