I love this saying so much because it says so much in so few words...which is something I have an EXTREMELY hard time doing. Tonight I want to talk about burdens. Once again I will explain my thoughts by using my own experiences as an example.
This whole summer I made it my goal to "find myself" haha...so cliché...that being said, I did discover quite a lot...but I lost sight of something super important.
I don't consider myself to be this super spiritual person who's always close to God and has everything figured out in that regard...but I do think I can tell the difference between when I am doing what He wants and sticking close with him and when I am putting distance between us by being all like "don't worry God, I got this!" and following my own fleshly desires. I think most of us are able to tell when there is that "distance" between us and God...and I gotta let you in on a little secret...God doesn't put that distance there, it's always something that you do whether intentionally or not.
But I digress; this whole summer in my journey to "find myself" I found that I was distancing myself from God a lot too...and I could go into details about how I was doing that, but I'll save that for another time...heh heh
The closest I felt to God this summer was in the mountains of Colorado at our church camp where I was a leader. I know the reasons for that were many (It being a camp focused on getting closer to God, being in church and worship services twice a day everyday, being surrounded by good Christian role models, ect) but I also realized while I was up there that the reason everyone says the mountains are God's country is not because of their close proximity to the "heavens" but because of their distance from the daily physical lives we all lead and let take over our spiritual lives. In the mountains you don't have cell phone service, you don't really have contact with the general human population, and you really don't have much contact with anything at all save the nature and yourself/the Holy Spirit.
I love feeling that distance, it clears your head and you can see things for how they really are. Best of all, the anxiety from all the things that worry us from day to day seems to vanish and we realize how trifle and petty the things that we put so much weight and importance on are like, our appearance, money, materials, our social standing, ect. That distance from our worldly concerns is really freeing right? Almost like being a little child again...
I didn't think I could feel that way here...back in the midst of all my problems...everything screaming for my attention...but tonight I did, and it was amazing in a way that made me want to throw up my hands and spin around in circles dancing and laughing :)
So let me tell you how this is possible because you're probably wondering how.
I went on a walk! Haha just kidding, well sorta...I did go on a walk, but I went with the sole intention of quieting my mind and seeking out God's spirit. Today has not been a good day. I spent the first half of it yelling at everyone in my family just because I was angry inside, and I spent the second half of it crying and feeling sorry for myself. I figured it was time to go talk to God and let Him soothe my spirit as my temper tantrums weren't making me feel any better.
As I was walking I thought "Okay God, I'm out here so where are you?" And suddenly I remembered all the awful things I had said and thought earlier and I knew somehow that the spirit behind that anger was keeping me away from hearing the Holy Spirit so I said I was sorry for all the hurtful things that I had said. Then I just started talking to God about everything that was hurting and you know what happened? Suddenly I felt weightless...and all the little things that were bothering me just didn't seem important anymore. I could finally see the forest despite the trees! Haha It wasn't like I suddenly became apathetic to those situations...God just took the "this is the worst possible thing ever!" lens off and let me see things for how they really are...in His spectrum. I'm not angry or hurt anymore...I feel happy and content again...such a stark contrast from the anger I felt earlier this morning.
In closing I would like to mention that we all carry a lot of worldly burdens. They weigh us down and constantly demand our attention, taking our focus away from our Creator and putting a distance between us and feeling peace and joy. But Jesus calls us to take His burden instead which is "easy and light" compared to the world's."Take My yoke upon you..." He says,"...and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." -Matthew 11:29-30
Jesus wants us to see that the things of this world, while so up close and in our faces, will make our earthly problems and lives seem so pertinent and distracting from His omnipotence. We choose our earthly burdens because of that delicious lie that we have an element of control over them. But that lie separates us from our Creator and it weighs us down making us miserable. So instead, choose to walk in the light...because it has lighter burdens! haha BADUM CHHH!
My song for today is "I Shall Not Want" By Audrey Assad...the message of the song is similar to the message of this post!