Heavy Bags of Burden

I recall a few years ago watching a young woman at the airport pulling a suitcase with one hand, holding another bag in the other, and toting a backpack. She was bent forward to balance the load on her back while clutching to her two bags with white knuckled fingers. She looked exhausted and frustrated as she had to stop every now and again to rest and catch her breath. Once, it appeared her backpack was going to topple her over, but in the nick of time she managed to regain balance and continue her struggle forward.

Suddenly, a man pushing an empty trolley walked over and spoke to the woman. She smiled and nodded. The man then loaded her bags onto the trolley and walked toward the exit with the woman. She stood straight and tall, a pleased look across her face as the man pushed her load for her. What relief to have someone else handle her heavy bags of burden.

It’s no different in our own spiritual worlds. Perhaps we become troubled by a situation in life or in the life of someone we care about dearly. There’s a backpack of worry nearly pushing us to the ground of despair, we’re pulling a load of, “what can I do,” in one hand, while lugging a heavy weight of, “near tears,” in the other. The burden of it all is nearly making us topple over in anxiety.

But, wait! We’re not alone! Here’s the Holy Spirit, our Helper! He has come to the rescue, to point us to the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” The Holy Spirit is our greatest teacher, revealing God’s truths. The Holy Spirit reminds us we need not bear our burdens alone. Jesus will carry our bags of worry, replacing them with lightweight packages of strength and peace. Jesus places all our troubles on a trolly of, “out the door,” and then walks with us into places of inner tranquility and quiet joy.

In Psalm 23 we have a beautiful and powerful picture of the Shepherd’s love for the sheep. In times of trouble, the sweet, Holy Spirit, brings to our remembrance the fact that knowing Jesus means He is our Shepherd. Jesus is all we need to get through anything at all. Jesus lets us rest in green meadows and walk beside gentle streams when our emotions are frantically whirling all over the place. Jesus renews our strength and guides us along right paths, which brings glory to His name because of all He is to us. When the Holy Spirit reminds us that Jesus is our Shepherd, then, even when we must travel through a dark valley of pain, we won’t be afraid because we are not alone. The Holy Spirit indwells us, never letting us forget that our Shepherd protects and comforts us, preparing a feast of His own joy and peace even in the midst of our greatest trials. When that happens, our cups of sorrow overflows with blessings of His help instead. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we know, through all the days of our lives, that Father God’s own goodness and unfailing love follows us through our every living moment. Then, when life on earth comes to an end, we live on with Him in the beautiful House of the Lord, the City of God, where no tears can be found, and where sorrow does not exist.

Thank you, Holy Spirit, for always leading us into truth. Thank you for being our Helper in all our times of trouble. Thank you for always pointing us to Jesus, our Rock, our Savior.