Juggler

I was thinking today of all the "things" I try to juggle in life. Responsibilities as a husband. Responsibilities as a dad. Responsibilities as a pastor. There is just so much to do, things to get done! Then, add on top of the "to do list" the weight of all the expectations. Whether it's true or not, I sense that different people expect that I'll attend certain events, that I'll give attention to certain details, that I'll 'be there' when they're in need. And, of course, there is the expectation that I live in a god-pleasing way.

There are my worries and fears. There are my regrets. There are all the ways that people have hurt me ... and all the pain and resentment that go along with that. There are the tragedies and losses that are part of living in a broken world. There are my dreams for the future ...... Each one of those things is just huge, if you think about it.  And I'm trying to juggle all of them. But honestly, how in the world can I keep it all going?! How can I keep all the balls in the air?!

There is that statement you always hear people say:  "God will not give you more than you can handle." Supposedly that's in the Bible somewhere. Somehow that's supposed to be a comfort.

Let me just say it:  NONSENSE!! People say that's what the Bible says. But it doesn't! And I think it's actually quite the opposite of what the Bible teaches. True, 1 Corinthians 10 says "he will not let you be TEMPTED beyond what you can bear." But I don't believe the Bible teaches that our BURDENS will be limited to what we can bear.

I have friends whose children have died tragically. I have friends whose spouses died way too young ... and so they're left to raise their children as widows. I have friends who carry the weight of betrayal (a cheating spouse or an abusive relative), the deep pain of addiction (alcohol, drugs, pornography), and the shame of failure (businesses they couldn't keep going, children who have walked away from their faith). Every single one alone WAY BEYOND what they can carry themselves! Yet God, in His wisdom, allows those burdens in their lives.

Why?? I can't fully say, because I am not God; and the Bible does say that His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55). But I believe that in part, God allows those burdens (that are bigger than our ability to carry or juggle them) SO THAT WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO TRUST IN HIM AND NOT IN OURSELVES.

From the beginning of the Bible to the end -- it seems from my reading -- there is ONE THING God asks of us:  TRUST.  It is why He used a runt named Gideon ... why He chose the scrawny kid named David ... why He called a pride-filled murderer named Paul. Anything they accomplished was not by their own strength or knowledge or wisdom but by GOD'S POWER.

I don't know what you're burdened by today. But I know what I'm facing. And I am thankful for His invitation (1 Peter 5:7): "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." And I hold on to His promise (Psalm 146:5): "BLESSED is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God." So I'm listening to His words of wisdom (Proverbs 3:5-6): "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge HIM, and he will make your paths straight."