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

Slaves for Christ

Romans 6:16 “Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”  Slaves. Most people cringe at this word because they do not want to be owned by something or someone. However, what most people are not aware of is that they are slaves to their sin, which has complete and total ownership of everything that they are. But, where there is fault, there is always redemption. Jesus Christ brought hope to the hopeless so that they might be free, free indeed, from the chains that they are unable to break free from on their own. To be a slave for Jesus is to be a servant and I would much rather be a servant for the Lord than be under the ownership of the things of this world. Before coming to IGNITE, my fire flared vibrantly for everything other than God. I made it to church every Wednesday and every other Sunday - I worked ev...
Post a Comment
Read more