Why do we lean into the gale?
Why do we struggle and push and fight our way upwind?
Why do we let the vultures weigh us down?
And wrestle with our foe– be it flesh or our mental prison?
Sucking away our life, with iron claws clamped around our waist,
Dragging us into the depths.
He tells us to let go, but we can’t.
He tells us to relax into him, but we won’t.
He tells us that the only way to peace is through him, but we reject.
Over and over we fall into the same path, the same pit.
We daily try to do it ourselves. We are adults, yet we aren’t so different than the two year old who says,”NO!”, “ME DO IT!” or “I DO MYSELF!”
From his perch on the booster seat, Luke would insist on pouring his own milk into his cereal. I would try to secretly hang on to the back of the carton as a guide. But if he caught me, he would jerk it away which would make a bigger mess than just the pouring debacle.
But one day after many fiascos, it finally became “Good job”, and “Well done.” Independence had begun.
Maybe part of our problem is this struggle for independence and autonomy ingrained from toddlerhood. When we figure out that we can do things ourselves, somewhat… that ability is then reinforced over and over with praise by our parents, praise by our teachers, and praise by our peers.
It’s no wonder we flounder when God tells us to let go and give it all to him. He will carry our burdens for us, yet we keep pilling our backpacks full until we bend under the weight.
“I DO IT MYSELF!”
But we can’t do it ourselves so we finally cry out to him,
“Lord help me.”
“I can’t do this anymore.”
In the Psalms, David shows us his heart and his willingness to beg God to rescue him, to raise him up, and to deliver him from his burdens again and again.
“In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go…” Ps 71:1-3
We gratefully thank Him for his help, His deliverance,
but our memories are short
and soon we begin the piling of the burdens on our back…AGAIN.
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Psalms 68:19 Praise be to the word, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
-What is weighing you down at present?
-Give God your troubles and ask him to help you find his peace.