Skip to main content

Lighten the Load

Revelation 1:9
“I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”

As I read this verse, at first I was entirely confused. However, when I saw the word companion, I thought about our class, IGNITE class 14. As individuals, we can only bear our burden on our own for so long before it becomes too heavy, in which God has given us brothers and sisters for us to bear our burdens with. Without these companions, how would any of us have the strength to carry on? Of course, the Lord gives us His strength in our time of need to persevere, but encouragement from the ones closest to us is always a special blessing. As Pastor Jordan said, sometimes all we need to know is that someone has been before where we find ourselves now. To have someone say to us, “I have been there before, and I know it is hard, it is so hard. But, we are going to get through this together because not only do I have your back, but the Lord does too, because He had mine. Can I pray for you?” Not only does this result in such an uplift in spirits, but this also has the ability to bring people closer. Recently, I have been wanting to go back home. There is nothing more comforting than falling back into what is familiar. When situations become uncomfortable, I shut down, feeling as though the entire room is judging me because that is all I have ever known. I have the current mind set that if I hurt you first, you cannot hurt me. Not only is this not the case, but because I have resorted to this in nearly every situation, it has now become habit. I now have an unhealthy motive to hurt almost everyone I meet because I cannot stand the idea of becoming any more damaged than I already am. I figure it is easier to just be alone than to be surprised when someone who I thought I could trust betrays me. However, through learning Christ’s love, I can learn to how love others the way He has loved me. It is only through unity that we may be a team, and I want to be a part of that team because know that I cannot do this alone and neither can anyone else.

Application
Today, I will pray before I speak when I feel like spitting out garbage that I know might harm someone.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Purposeful Waiting

Lamentations 3:25 “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.” Waiting is difficult. So much so that waiting on the Lord seems almost unbearable. Because of my fallen nature, my mind is consumed with self, focusing on fulfilling the desires of my own heart rather than walking the path of righteousness that the Lord has set forth in front of me. Why? Because I assume that the plans which I create for myself are better than the plans of the One who created me. The Lord knows the desires of my heart, He placed them there purposefully. If only I would surrender them to Him, waiting on His good and perfect timing would not become such a heartache. I would not have to bear the consequences of wrongful decisions because my reliance and trust that the Lord is going to provide for me will prevent me from falling into the lie that compromise is okay. Compromise is the enemy receiving victory as I settle for less than what the Lord so desperately wants to give me ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Running For His Glory

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore, I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: Not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run such a way that you may obtain it.” Matthew 22:14 sheds light on these verses as it states that, “Many are called but few are chosen.” Many are called to know Christ but few will choose the narrow path to follow HIm. The Christian life is difficult and being disciplined in the Lord can oftentimes give people a twisted perspective regarding who He really is. The Bible to some can seem like a ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Peace, Be Still

Psalms 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.” With less than one week left in Uganda, I am faced with the dire fact that a flood of goodbyes awaits me. How do I say goodbye to a country that I have fallen in love with over the course of is months? Be still. How do I readjust to the American way of living without falling back into habits of old? Be still. The Lord has given me the comforting words of Psalms 121:8, which has given me the strength to be confident in knowing that the Lord is in control, promising to preserve me in my coming and my going. Saying goodbye has never been and will never become easy, but there is peace in knowing that the Lord has confirmed the end of this season to begin the next. There is peace in knowing that it is not goodbye, but see you soon. There is peace in the stillness of trusting that God’s plan for my life is always in my best interest even heartache is involved. I remember quite fondly a time where I was not interested in coming to Africa a...
Post a Comment
Read more