Sharing a burden helps the burden bearer because his load is lightened and he can gain new perspective on solutions, it benefits the one who comes alongside because he gains an understanding of the burden and the bearer, it helps both because when the task is done there is a sense of accomplishment and a bond between the two is created. You have a new brother or sister.
Adam and Eve hid in the bushes. Jonah tried to escape by ship. David committed murder. Today people still try to cover up those things they are ashamed of. Some try drugs and alcohol. Others try sex or new relationships. Others may spend their lives trying to control others or live in anger, bitterness or resentment. But the best way to deal our bad choices is confession. Confession before a loving God isn’t admitting we are a failure, it’s admitting our need for a savior. All of us fail. Sometimes, multiple times a day. Confession releases us from the guilt. Confession is like a small candle which defeats even the darkest night. Live free of shame. Live free of the shame. Confess your failures to God through Jesus Christ.
What you eat determines, in many ways, your health. This is true in the spiritual realm as well as the physical realm. Technology has given us an unimaginable amount of opportunities to grow in our faith in Jesus Christ and improve our walk with him so others will see their need for him. At no other time in history are we able to be salt and light to a lost world. But we also have the danger of filling our spiritual appetite with junk food. There are many who teach opinion rather than fact so well we buy into it. With so many resources available, we are in information overload and Biblically illiterate. Don’t take someone else’s word for truth. Study it first hand from the Bible.
Rock climbers amaze me. I watch as they scale a seemingly sheer cliff simply by finding small cracks and crevices to grab a toehold in the rock and inch their way to the top and conquest. The enemy is like that. He finds cracks in out armor that he uses to slowly conquer our attitudes and outlook on life. An inch here, a couple inches there and soon he has you. Your alarm doesn’t go off because the kids were playing with the clock again. You can’t burn your toast because you are out of bread. The traffic is horrible. If only your co-workers would do their jobs! Anger creeps in unless you focus on the power of God working through your life. Take heart. Nothing you encounter today is more than God can help you through.
We live in a world that screams bigger is better; that size matters. But real power comes in small packages. David slew Goliath alone while two huge armies looked on. Jesus sent the disciples on their first short term missions trip in pairs. It took just one man, hanging from a tree and later resurrected, to change the world. Before you think you are too insignificant to make a difference; before you think your tools are inadequate or your location too obscure, remember, with God strength comes from smallness..
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 