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

Overwhelming Conflict

Psalms 91:2 “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.””  This past Sunday, team Uganda had the privilege to lead the two church services. From worship to the sermon, the Lord was present. Having never sung in front of really anyone to being on the worship team and having not one, but two solos, was rather frightening. In addition to having a spirit of fear, the morning of, I was faced with a myriad of conflict as a glob of toothpaste dropped slyly onto the shirt I was planning on wearing, I did not have a necklace to match the shirt I then had to put on, and I ran out of time for curling my hair and ironing my skirt. I knew the enemy was seeking to do whatever he could to focus my eyes on myself rather than on what the Lord was attempting to do in and through me for that day, but I was already defeated and left wondering how a day that had begun so terribly could have a positive outcome. I needed a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spir...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Transformation

Mark 7:17 “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the thins which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.” As I was reading my devotional this morning, it touched on something that I had said early on in my time here in Uganda: “You can’t run from sin because you can’t run from you.” Sin truly does live in my heart and it is only when I run to Jesus, who is the only One who can deliver me from myself, that my heart can be radically transformed. I can and have attempted in my own strength to change my heart, but this has only led to condemnation and failure. The Lord never asked me to fix myself, He has asked me to do nothing other than cry out to Him at street level so that He can fix me in my most broken state. That is how He wants me: battered, bruised, and broken because this is when I am honest; this is when I want nothing more than for the Father to fix what I have ruined, again. But, when I attempt to change what only the L...
Post a Comment
Read more

Selfless Love

Romans 15:1 “We who are strong ought to bear with the fallings of the weak and not to please ourselves.” Hebrews 6:10 reminds us, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” Our God is faithful to His promises, rewarding those who are humble, who become weak to win the weak, who bear the burden, and who love selflessly. However, we as humans are deceiving as we do almost everything to benefit ourselves in one way or another. Especially when it comes to others, helping someone can sometimes quickly become a personal gain that we use to make ourselves seem superior to the one whom we are helping. However, we are called to love others the way in which Christ has loved us, selflessly. To love selflessly is to humble ourselves and love without gain, bearing the burden of another simply to encourage them in their battle and allow them to recognize that they are not alone. Life is difficult as ...
Post a Comment
Read more