November 24, 1998
In a recent crusade, Billy Graham said “busy people have forgotten their souls.” His remark recalls a story about an expedition through a jungle. The white leader pushed for rapid progress but his native servants kept stopping. He thought they were lazy but they said they simply wanted “time to let our souls catch up with our bodies.”
Slow people frustrate those who think full-speed ahead is the only way to make progress. However, being in a rush puts our bodies at risk. Type A personalities have heart attacks. As Graham says, they can also experience a breakdown in their soul.
Long-term soul-neglect sometimes has delayed symptoms. A person might seem fine for a time then suddenly collapse. One Christian leader uses “sink holes” to describe it. A hidden stream of water washes away subsoil until what appears to be a normal area of ground, suddenly develops a huge, gaping hole. Without warning, it caves in.
According to Graham, soul-neglect begins when people ignore their inner ache. He said, “There’s a hole in your heart and in your life. You’d like it to be filled, but you don’t know what it is. And you’ve tried so many things, like drugs and sex. All these things haven’t satisfied the deepest longing you have because that something you’re looking for is God.”
He adds, “people long for a transcendent, timeless touch from God” but instead of going to Him for it, they get involved in the frantic pace of modern life, leaving no time for their souls.
By leaving God out of our lives, that inner void grows deeper. Instead of stopping to fill it with Him, people step up the pace. As the evangelist said, they swirl through life on quick fixes, up-to-the-minute news, instant this and that, amounting to a diet that does not satisfy their deepest needs.
I’ve watched people do it. A combination of soul-neglect and a penchant for quick remedies produces superficial lives and superficial cures. That unsatisfied cry of the heart goes unheard and these people eventually collapse, largely under a load of their own creation.
This solution is obvious: slow down and give time to God. Jesus puts it this way: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Graham uses the Bible to say, “We are powerless to change our spiritual condition, and when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” To be changed, we need to take our lives and our sins and give everything to Jesus. He forgives sin and changes the way we live.
Part of that change is a deep, inner peace that only He can produce in our souls. He fills the void and our busy, restless hearts find rest in Him. While we cannot do that ourselves, we can learn about Him by reading the Bible, worshiping with others and praying.
Learning about Jesus includes the discovery that He is gentle and humble. Busy people often find the only way they can tolerate gentle, humble people is to become that themselves. With God’s help, they can.
Jesus also says rest for a busy soul includes dropping our burden and sharing His. In English, that word “burden” is a turnoff to those who are already worn out. However, in the original language it is not quite what we think. The earlier phrase “weary and burdened” is talking about a load of freight. That is what we try to carry. Jesus’ “light burden” is another word. That culture used it to describe that little piece of paper tacked to the freight, the invoice!
That leaves a choice to those of us who tend to get too busy. Do we want a sinkhole? Or would we rather have the fatigue that goes with carrying around an invoice?
Showing posts with label burdens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label burdens. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Friday, December 5, 2014
Need a spiritual adjustment? ................. Parables 205
(February 21, 1990)
It didn’t fit at all. The arms were too far apart. The seat tilted wrong. The back hit my back in the wrong place. Worse yet, it seemed to aggravate the aches and pains that were still there from sitting in the old one. My husband was disappointed. He felt bad that he’d selected such an inappropriate computer chair for my birthday.
So I took it back. The lady in the store graciously ordered me another and called me a day later. On my way down to try out the new chair, I went to see my chiropractor and had my back adjusted. It was more out of alignment than it had ever been. What an adjustment!
A few minutes later, I arrived at the store, hoping this chair would fit. When I saw it, I remarked it looked just like the old one. “No,” she said, “this one is less expensive. Just sit in it.”
It fit. I was happy, even though I had to come back later for my refund. So I loaded it in the car and took it home. Later, when I returned, I was told there was a mistake -- it was the same chair as before! Obviously it was not the chair that needed adjusting.
The whole episode reminded me of an old cartoon depicting a mother watching her son march with his army division. As the soldiers went by, she proudly announced, “Oh look, everyone is out of step but my Johnny.”
Last week, my back probably wouldn’t have liked any chair. I could have shopped and shopped, got upset with the people who sell or manufacture chairs and never found anything that fit right. This happens in the spiritual realm too. Consider this parallel: “I am in pain and somebody told me to read the Bible, but all it does is make me feel worse. It tells me all my faults and points out everything I do wrong. I don’t like the Christian message... It makes me feel bad about myself. I’m going to shop around....”
Sore back or sore souls, a lot of folks are tired and carrying burdens too large for them. Broken homes, loss of employment and trials of all kinds are loads that can bend anyone over in pain. They may read the words of invitation Jesus gave in Matthew 11 to all who “are weary and heavy laden”, but cannot seem to follow through on the remainder: “Come unto me... take my yoke upon you and learn of me... and you shall find rest for your souls.” For them, there is simply no rest.
God says “Is my hand shortened that it cannot save...?” Is it God’s fault that some find no peace or comfort in the Scriptures? No. He says the problem is, “Your sins have separated you from me...”
His remedy would fit our need -- but we are out of step with God. Or, like my back, our lives first need adjusting. We have to get our sin dealt with before His blessings will fit. After that, Jesus can lift any burden. He promises that “whoever comes to me, I will in no way cast out.” He never pushes us away because our load is too much for Him to bear. In fact, He took our biggest burden on Himself at Calvary. There He willingly bore the punishment we deserved and broke down the barrier that separates us from God’s richest blessings.
When we come to Him first with our sin, we find that He makes us “new creatures” with a new nature, a new way of looking at life and a new capacity to deal with its perplexities. You might say He has “adjusted” us. After that initial adjustment, we will find His Word a comfort to our sore places and His promises a balm to our burdens. Sure, it still pinches whenever we sin, but the fault is not with the Bible.
“The natural man (the person without Christ) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual discerns all things... he has the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2).... Now that’s an adjustment!
It didn’t fit at all. The arms were too far apart. The seat tilted wrong. The back hit my back in the wrong place. Worse yet, it seemed to aggravate the aches and pains that were still there from sitting in the old one. My husband was disappointed. He felt bad that he’d selected such an inappropriate computer chair for my birthday.
So I took it back. The lady in the store graciously ordered me another and called me a day later. On my way down to try out the new chair, I went to see my chiropractor and had my back adjusted. It was more out of alignment than it had ever been. What an adjustment!
A few minutes later, I arrived at the store, hoping this chair would fit. When I saw it, I remarked it looked just like the old one. “No,” she said, “this one is less expensive. Just sit in it.”
It fit. I was happy, even though I had to come back later for my refund. So I loaded it in the car and took it home. Later, when I returned, I was told there was a mistake -- it was the same chair as before! Obviously it was not the chair that needed adjusting.
The whole episode reminded me of an old cartoon depicting a mother watching her son march with his army division. As the soldiers went by, she proudly announced, “Oh look, everyone is out of step but my Johnny.”
Last week, my back probably wouldn’t have liked any chair. I could have shopped and shopped, got upset with the people who sell or manufacture chairs and never found anything that fit right. This happens in the spiritual realm too. Consider this parallel: “I am in pain and somebody told me to read the Bible, but all it does is make me feel worse. It tells me all my faults and points out everything I do wrong. I don’t like the Christian message... It makes me feel bad about myself. I’m going to shop around....”
Sore back or sore souls, a lot of folks are tired and carrying burdens too large for them. Broken homes, loss of employment and trials of all kinds are loads that can bend anyone over in pain. They may read the words of invitation Jesus gave in Matthew 11 to all who “are weary and heavy laden”, but cannot seem to follow through on the remainder: “Come unto me... take my yoke upon you and learn of me... and you shall find rest for your souls.” For them, there is simply no rest.
God says “Is my hand shortened that it cannot save...?” Is it God’s fault that some find no peace or comfort in the Scriptures? No. He says the problem is, “Your sins have separated you from me...”
His remedy would fit our need -- but we are out of step with God. Or, like my back, our lives first need adjusting. We have to get our sin dealt with before His blessings will fit. After that, Jesus can lift any burden. He promises that “whoever comes to me, I will in no way cast out.” He never pushes us away because our load is too much for Him to bear. In fact, He took our biggest burden on Himself at Calvary. There He willingly bore the punishment we deserved and broke down the barrier that separates us from God’s richest blessings.
When we come to Him first with our sin, we find that He makes us “new creatures” with a new nature, a new way of looking at life and a new capacity to deal with its perplexities. You might say He has “adjusted” us. After that initial adjustment, we will find His Word a comfort to our sore places and His promises a balm to our burdens. Sure, it still pinches whenever we sin, but the fault is not with the Bible.
“The natural man (the person without Christ) does not receive the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual discerns all things... he has the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2).... Now that’s an adjustment!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Freedom from abuse ............................. Parables 153
A young, very pregnant girl sits sobbing in a chilly courtroom. Her boyfriend is charged with assault. She is afraid she will lose him to a prison cell. His only possible defense is that the judge will have mercy. She fears for her future. What will happen to her? What will happen to her baby, and to their other small child? How will she ever manage alone?
A tragedy? Yes, but the worst is yet to come. The boyfriend’s victim was this very girl.
Not an uncommon situation. Two lonely, perhaps downtrodden, people are attracted to one another. They meet one another’s needs for a time, but somehow the relationship becomes lop-sided.
One has a more dominant personality or it stronger in some way. The other, afraid of not being needed or wanted, chooses to remain under that dominance rather than face life without someone, anyone. Sadly, she became the giver, he only takes.
For such victims, the fear of rejection and being alone is greater than the fear of abuse, ridicule and repeated injury. Some will endure whatever they are dealt just to belong to someone, to have some sense of security. This girl, and countless like her, is held in emotional bondage.
The situation can be reversed too. Men hold no monopoly on dominance and abuse; women are not always the weaker ones. Whatever the case, God never intended human relationships to be lop-sided. It seems breaking free and becoming independent would be the only way out, but such a yoke is difficult to break. Rarely can the insecure person stand alone. Without help, they don’t have the resources.
There are no pat answers — but there is an answer. It does not lie in seeking independence but in finding a new and gentle master, one who gives instead of takes, one who frees instead of binds.
The only Master I know of that gives freedom is the One who said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free... I am the truth!”
Yes, Jesus Christ was speaking of freedom from the bondage of unbelief and sin, but in that freedom, there is also a transfer of dependency — from whatever bondage that holds us to the One who promises genuine freedom.
When a weak and insecure person attaches themselves to someone stronger, the strong one may take exploit their weakness, but Jesus never’ does that. He not only takes care of all our needs, He loves us unconditionally, accepts us fully and protects us with His strength. He promises abundant, fruitful lives and even makes us partners with Him in His work. We are needed but not exploited.
He graciously supplies all — so we can do whatever He asks us to do! (See Corinthians 9:8) With Christ as the supply, we can even give. Takers can take all they want and we never run out — His supply is inexhaustible.
Sounds too good to be true? If I didn’t know that it was true in my own life, I would think so, but Jesus has never failed me. There are times when pressures are more than I can bear, when people make demands that are beyond my patience and my capacity. But He gives strength and renewed strength. His patience is available that I might choose it rather than cave in.
Jesus invites those who struggle, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you (instead of the one you are carrying) and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden it light.”
The Bible encourages any who suffer to “Ask for wisdom” — God gives it to all who ask in faith. Surely, we need His wisdom to find our way through any difficulty, including that of a lop-sides relationship.
Life may not hold extreme trials or crippling bondage right now, but God is available in good times. Anyone who desires His freedom and peace can find it through a personal relationship with the Prince of Peace. “If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed.”
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Stressed? ................ Parables 064
Some people hate self-tests. Others like them. Personally, I found “How do you react to stress?” both revealing, and interesting. It was in a recent newspaper, and contained 20 questions with 1 - 4 self-rating scores.
The ratings went something like this:
Here are some samples from the test:
1) Do you try to do as much as possible in the least amount of time? Psalm 90 says “Teach us to number our days that we might gain a heart of wisdom.” Ephesians 5 says “Be careful how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.” The Bible teaches prayerful planning and being active, but not frantic cramming.
2) Do you become impatient with delays or interruptions? James 1 tells us to “consider it pure joy... when you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” But we are also told to “press on” and overcome obstacles. The Bible teaches that interruptions and delays are controlled by God, and that He can use them for good in the lives of His people. We need to use them, not let them cause us to sin.
3) Do you always have to win at games to enjoy yourself? James teaches that we are to guard against selfish ambition, yet we are also to do our very best. Because of Christ, we can be “winners” in God’s sight, loved and accepted unconditionally by Him, and given all we need to do all He wants us to do. Therefore winning in games becomes unimportant.
The other 17 questions also relate to scriptural principles.
When a person fails the stress tests of real life, they find themselves irate, irritated, frenzied, worried, confused, unable to make decisions, flighty, and just plain frazzled. This is a violation of the kind of life that God intended. The test makes the point that the body suffers more from a stressed mind and emotions than it does from hard work.
The Bible says this too. In fact, His book was the original manual on the subject. It gives the cause of stress: unbelief and sin; and the one solution that works: Jesus Christ. He came to give inner peace to the stressed person, rest for the soul.
Jesus makes an invitation. “Come unto me you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.” He knows that the load of life is hard. He lived here too. He bids the stressed to come to Him, and promises all who come that He will never turn them away.
The first load He removes is the burden of personal sin: “As far as the east is from the west - so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Then He replaces it with a lighter burden: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am meek and lowly in heart.....My yoke is easy, my burden is light.”
Doing HIS will, with His enabling power is far less stressful than doing OUR will without Him.
While not all stress can be eliminated, (we would become mashed potatoes) we need not carry it alone. Jesus can deal with stress at its source. He may take the load away. He may lighten it. He may give stronger “muscles” to carry it. Whatever He does, He will untie the knots and give peace.
The ratings went something like this:
1 - “never” = “non-productive and lacking stimulation”It was revealing because it showed me some areas where my walk with God could improve; interesting because I noticed that each question was related to Biblical principles - principles that, if followed, would make stress much easier to manage.
2 - “sometimes” = “has a good balance and able to control and handle stress.
3 - “frequently” = “borderline tense”
4 - “always” = “a candidate for heart disease.”
Here are some samples from the test:
1) Do you try to do as much as possible in the least amount of time? Psalm 90 says “Teach us to number our days that we might gain a heart of wisdom.” Ephesians 5 says “Be careful how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil.” The Bible teaches prayerful planning and being active, but not frantic cramming.
2) Do you become impatient with delays or interruptions? James 1 tells us to “consider it pure joy... when you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” But we are also told to “press on” and overcome obstacles. The Bible teaches that interruptions and delays are controlled by God, and that He can use them for good in the lives of His people. We need to use them, not let them cause us to sin.
3) Do you always have to win at games to enjoy yourself? James teaches that we are to guard against selfish ambition, yet we are also to do our very best. Because of Christ, we can be “winners” in God’s sight, loved and accepted unconditionally by Him, and given all we need to do all He wants us to do. Therefore winning in games becomes unimportant.
The other 17 questions also relate to scriptural principles.
When a person fails the stress tests of real life, they find themselves irate, irritated, frenzied, worried, confused, unable to make decisions, flighty, and just plain frazzled. This is a violation of the kind of life that God intended. The test makes the point that the body suffers more from a stressed mind and emotions than it does from hard work.
The Bible says this too. In fact, His book was the original manual on the subject. It gives the cause of stress: unbelief and sin; and the one solution that works: Jesus Christ. He came to give inner peace to the stressed person, rest for the soul.
Jesus makes an invitation. “Come unto me you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.” He knows that the load of life is hard. He lived here too. He bids the stressed to come to Him, and promises all who come that He will never turn them away.
The first load He removes is the burden of personal sin: “As far as the east is from the west - so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Then He replaces it with a lighter burden: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am meek and lowly in heart.....My yoke is easy, my burden is light.”
Doing HIS will, with His enabling power is far less stressful than doing OUR will without Him.
While not all stress can be eliminated, (we would become mashed potatoes) we need not carry it alone. Jesus can deal with stress at its source. He may take the load away. He may lighten it. He may give stronger “muscles” to carry it. Whatever He does, He will untie the knots and give peace.
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