She carried it because she couldn’t find a place to lay it
down.
It was heavy. This burden of “If” that she carried. She had acquired it on her journey at the
fork in the road.
Had she chosen the wrong path?
No, she was sure this was the path that was lit by the Lamp
for her feet, but it had led her through a land that was much rockier than she
thought it would be.
The travel was slow
and in her weariness, she had encountered this place-The Land of What If. She knew she shouldn’t linger there, but
some had said there would be things there that would prepare her for the road
ahead, and so it seemed a sensible place to explore.
But now she knew.
The Land of What If
had nothing for her to carry with her but fear. And now this fearful ‘If’ clung
to her like a heavy yoke that made it much harder to travel the path
ahead. She struggled to rid herself of
it. She longed to just lay it down, but
there was nowhere to place it.
There were
companions along the way, traveling the same path. She was relieved; maybe they would come beside her and help her
carry her burden of ‘If’. But they
scoffed at the heaviness that weighed on her.
They carried them too and their backs were bent from doing it so long,
but they refused to acknowledge the weight of their ‘If’. They didn’t believe
in them –“No Ifs, Ands, or Buts” they had said. “We will not speak of it and it
will not be.” But her ‘If’ was real and although they may not admit it, so was
theirs.
So she traveled on
finding no comfort there. It bothered
her. No matter what she did, it was always there keeping her up at night,
slowing her down in her journey, making the road seem more torturous and scary
than before.
She was ready to
give up.
She just couldn’t go
any further. As she began to give into the weight ,she looked down for a place
to lay. That’s when she saw them, His pierced feet clothed in dusty sandals –
the same dust that covered her on this path.
Had He been walking this path with her as well?
She had not seen Him, even though He said He would always be
there. She had felt alone on this path
and so she thought she was. But there
He was.
“Keep going’ He
said.
“ I cannot, my burden is to heavy and I am afraid.”
“ Do not fear, I am with you always”
She explained to Him
that her ‘If’ was real and heavy and it made her very afraid to go on.
“ I know the plans I have for you” He said. “They are plans that will prosper you, they
will give you a hope and a future” He said “ Lay your burdens at my feet, I
care for you, and I will carry them for you.”
She dropped them
right there at His feet and in a heap of exhaustion she fell to her knees. Her
strength was gone. He placed His hand
on her and said “You can do this because I will strengthen you with My
strength, which is perfected in your weakness.”
He took her hand and
guided her along the rocky places.
She could still see the ‘If’. It was there but somehow it
seemed smaller as He covered it in His hands.
It seemed less scary to know and recognize that it could not move
anywhere that His hand didn’t allow it to and as she walked, covered in His
strength, she laughed at her future, undaunted by the path ahead.
Psalms 119:105 (NLT) “ Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a
light for my path”.
Isaiah 41:10 (NLT) “ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be
discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold
you up with my victorious right hand.”
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) ”For I know the plans I have for you,” says
the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future
and a hope.”
1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) “ Give all your worries and cares to God, for
he cares about you.”
Proverbs 31:25 (NLT) “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she
laughs without fear of the future.”
Pin It
