“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16: 33(KJV)
I heard the story of a nurse that hurt herself while lifting one of her patients. As she was limping back to her desk at the nurse’s station holding her back, she moaned to herself, “The patient in 318 weighs half-a-ton!” As she entered the nurse’s station her co-worker looked up at her and asked, “What happened?” She replied, “Oh, I helped the lady in 318 from her bed to the stretcher so she could go to physical therapy. Now I’m the one that needs to go to physical therapy!” Her co-worker smiled and said, “Yea, she is a bit on the heavy side, but I lifted her yesterday without any problem.” “You did?” The nurse asked. “Yes” replied the co-worker, “but I used my knees to lift her, not my back. Don’t you remember the nursing principle?” she teased. “It’s not the load that can hurt you, it’s the way you carry it.”
As I heard this story I realized that the same principle is true in Spiritual matters. Often, it is not the size or weight of our burdens that hurts us; it is the way we carry them. Do we try to lift our burdens with our knees or with our backs? Do we carry our burdens with a heart of bitterness and pessimism or one of cheerfulness and hope?
The question is not whether or not we will have burdens. Jesus plainly told us that as long as we are in this world – we would have burdens! So, there is no question regarding burdens! However, He also gave us encouragement by assuring us that He had overcome the world. Oh yes, His burdens were just as heavy as ours, but He modeled to us the correct way to carry them. He overcame the world by carrying His burdens the correct way. He carried His burdens with prayer and joy. Do you?
Dawn is still breaking on 2017. It’s brand new. The canvass is still blank. We do not know how it will unfold or what it will contain for us. But we can rest assured that we will face burdens. The only question is how we will carry them. If we carry them incorrectly, they will destroy us. However, if we carry them correctly, in faith, and with a positive attitude, there is no burden we cannot carry.
As I close this Nugget today, let me leave you with something that came my way the other day. It simply says: No one can go back and make a brand new start, but anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. The way we carry our burdens will determine the ending. I wonder how you are carrying your burdens. Remember, “It’s not the load that can hurt you, it’s the way you carry it.”
Brother Aaron