Burdened by or blessed with?
Do you ever just feel run down and tired by the responsibilities in your life? Do you ever find yourself complaining about all the different relationships, obligations, titles, etc. that you are trying to juggle? I found myself in one of those moments recently. My wife and I were in the midst of a couple of busy weeks. They were weeks packed with fun, exciting things like traveling, dinners with friends, and serving in the community. However, it didn't take very long for our full schedule to take its toll. Before I knew it, I was no longer feeling excited. Instead I found myself feeling weighed down and frustrated.This frustration kept me from experiencing the joy that God had intended for me to experience. While we were spending time with people we loved and cared about, I felt distracted and withdrawn. When we were serving, it felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Work each day was accompanied by a sense of angst, not excitement and passion. Even something as simple as having dinner with my wife didn't really help me to relax. It just felt like something I had to do.If I am being honest, this is pretty typical. This is the place that I tend to drift to when I am feeling overwhelmed. However, this time was a little different. In this particular circumstance, God impressed a question upon my heart that really has me chasing after a huge shift in my pattern of thinking. I felt like God asked me the question, "Do you feel BURDENED BY or BLESSED WITH these responsibilities?"That question really shook me a bit, because the answer tells us a lot about our faith. You see, our walk with Christ is not meant to be a burden, even if our walk leads us into suffering. James 1:2 indicates that in Christ, we have the opportunity to have joy even in the midst of trials. Therefore, any sense of feeling overwhelmed and burdened isn't a reflection of our circumstances as much as it is a reflection of our heart.My honest answer to God's question would have to be, "God, I am feeling BURDENED BY, not blessed with responsibilities and opportunities. I am feeling weighed down and burdened as if I have somehow broke away from your yoke and tried to carry all of this weight myself. I am attempting to carry a load that I do not have the ability to carry on my own, and that is why I am tired."Is anyone else feeling this way at the moment? Thank God that He has good news for any of us that are feeling weighed down and overwhelmed. That good news is that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). At any given moment, we are free to yoke ourselves to Him, and He promises to lighten that load. In fact, He promises even more that that, He promises to give us rest for our souls (Matthew 11:29).So I pose the question again. Are feeling burdened by or blessed with your current circumstances? Are you feeling weighed down and deflated, or joyous and excited? If you are feeling joyous, fantastic! Praise God for that! If you are feeling overwhelmed and tired, then your joy might be found in a subtle change of perspective. That subtle change is found in simply accepting the offer that the loving Savior of the world has extended to you. Just fall into his arms and yoke yourself to Him. Cast your cares on Him, because He cares for you. Let Him refresh you, and fill you with joy. Let God change your perspective, so that those things that feel like burdens today will seem like blessings tomorrow. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13)"?"So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them" (Ecclesiastes 3:22)?