What Weight Are You Carrying?
Ten years ago, my husband inherited a Ford Ranger from his father who had passed away. It was a long ride across the isolated upper peninsula of Michigan in the wintery November cold, but the vehicle stayed warm and safe through the snow and wind. After we brought the truck back home, my husband decided to remove the topper on the back of the truck so he could use it to transport a large item. To get the topper off, he needed my help.
When he asked me if I could lift the weight and bulk of that topper on one side while he carried the other, I wondered if he forgot I was a girl. A studious, motherly, cushy, non-athletic weakling type of girl. I was pretty sure I would not be a good partner in this hoisting adventure and all I could imagine were crushed toes and fingers at the end of this situation. But, I reluctantly agreed to help out. I don’t think I had much of a choice, really.
On my side of the truck, the topper didn’t feel quite as heavy as I had imagined and I began to gain some confidence as we slid it down to the edge of the truck. Maybe this wouldn’t be so dangerous after all. Soon, the entire weight of the topper was in our hands, no longer resting on back of the truck and I felt it slipping out of my hands, off-balance and teetering towards crashing into the ground. Before I even realized what had happened, the balance returned and the weight of the topper was light once again as we set it gently upon the ground.
It turns out that my husband really only needed me to balance my end of the topper; he didn’t need my strength to carry the weight, just a set of hands to keep it from falling to the ground. He was lifting the bulk of the weight on his side and letting me carry the remaining 10%.
I wonder if it isn’t like that with God sometimes too. He says that without Him, we can do nothing, but with Him I can do all things. So often, when I look at a challenge in life, I only see how heavy it looks and how weak I feel. I forget that I’m only called upon to give my hands and feet to the task; the Lord will do the work. He will balance the weight of this problem on His shoulders; all I have to do is follow His lead.
Absolutely. When we try to do things in our own strength – that is when things slip out of our hands, become unbalanced, and fall to the ground. We also find ourselves very out of breath and warn out – we just can’t keep up the pace. When we allow God to take the bulk, and give it over to him, the load is literally lifted, and we can enjoy the work and see it through. Now to put it into practice …
Jo 🙂
WOW what a great comparision. This Word ministered to me this morning Heather! With Him we are strong!
Powerful reminder that our Lord carries all the weight; if we let Him.