Matthew 11:28 - Come
to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads and I will give you
rest
In most fitness gym anywhere, a type of multi-purpose body
building equipment that has the one-weight multi function work-out can be
found. Curiously, with any single choice of weight load, say 50lbs (roughly 23
kgs), one can notice different levels of resistances for each work-out. In a
particular equipment, the least resistance is when using the shoulder-pull
lever and the greatest resistance is during leg-pull up. For a newbie user, this
may lead to a false idea that his shoulder is really stronger than his leg
muscles. Until a closer scrutiny leads to the revealing fact.
It is neither the person's ability nor the weight that is
mostly affecting the "heaviness" of the work-out but the designed
system of pulleys (i.e. strings through round metal wheel) that results in
effective disparity of weights according to the applied work-out. In principle,
the more pulleys, the lesser the weight becomes. Conversely, the lesser the
quantity of pulleys, the more heavy the same load would appear.
In our life, we do carry different weights from our daily
trials and travails. Every so often, they appear simple, even amusing.
Sometimes, they pinch a spot in our heart but immediately go away. At times,
the pain lingers. On rare occasion, the test is overwhelming such as the
untimely loss of a love one.
A family friend lost their father a couple of days ago.
Before the scheduled internment, their father's sister, arriving from abroad, also
died on the way to the wake. Both have been suffering from stage 4 cancer and
it was a double blow of pain for the people who loved them. Also, a young man
at 17 from our homeschooling community also met a fatal accident when he tried
to rescue a friend washed away by an out-of-nowhere big wave in a southern
beach resort. After an overnight search, his lifeless body was found and was
laid to rest. We never personally know them but his parent's deep loss is shared
by us as we pray for God's comfort in both families. Presently, someone close
is also struggling to keep his business above-waters for his family and his
employees' sake.
When tough times like these come to us, there is really no
quick-solution guaranteed deliverance from the harsh situation we are into. It
does not make sense also to shut ourselves away from world in the hope that the
pain will be isolated. As the book of Ecclesiastes have said that there is an
appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens
(ch3 v1). Inevitably, part of being a human is to undergoing suffering and the
only way is to go through these trying times, not under them, not over them and
definitely not around them. We either stand our ground or face it forward.
But we do have a better choice. Even in the absence of understanding
why such things are happening to us, we can and we should take upon the
invitation of Jesus to come to Him, offer unto Him whatever is hurting us and
accept His rest for us as we trust in His mysterious yet encompassing plans for
our lives. Like a system of pulleys at work, God's inspiring word and divine works
will lift up anyone who seeks His comfort
and rest. The weight of the trial did not really change, but the burden will much
be lighter and more bearable once we let Him take over and take charge of our
situation.
Believe in His love for all of us no matter what.
Lift up your hands to God.
God bless.
Joshua 1:5 I will
not leave you nor forsake you.
