My husband tells a story a about a man who was walking along a country road with a heavy burden on his back. A neighbor came along driving a wagon and offered to let the man ride in the wagon. The neighbor noticed that though the man had climbed into the wagon he was still carrying the burden on his back. When he was asked why he the burden was still on his shoulders he replied, "I appreciate you giving me a ride but I couldn't ask you to carry my burdens to!"
This story always reminds me of 1 Peter 5:5-7 "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares about you." So if humility is represented by casting our cares on God believing that he cares for us does that mean that being anxious is also being prideful?
Paul tells us in Ephesians that for those God has chosen he has blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. That is a mind boggling thought. Yet often we live our lives bowed down by the burdens we carry. Trying to work out our problems in our own strength we spurn the grace God offers us. The burdens we carry cause us to be self focuses instead of God focused and that is simply pride in disguise.
If what God says is true and we have access to every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places how do we access them. The book of James says that we have not because we ask not. Jesus taught us that if we asked we would receive. Our burdens and difficulties can become an opportunity to encounter God because he has promised that if we draw near to him he will draw near to us.
1 Thessalonians tells us to pray without ceasing. I see this as an invitation by God to encounter his grace in every aspect of our lives. He has invited to not only carry us but our burdens as well. He has given us access to all the spiritual blessings of heaven and promised not just life but an abundant life.
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