Our FB friends? We need them. People need to communicate, to chat, to text, to spread humor, to be uplifted, to be assured they are loved. If I’m not mistaken the highest number of texting in a given day belongs to the Filipino people. It’s great business for the cell phone providers. By last count I have 204 FB friends. Not a huge number compared to most. I don’t pick my friends at random that’s why. I don’t want to run into privacy woes. I remember I got a notice that a class action suit was filed by a group of lawyers against the FB owners for $20 million. When the dust settles, I’d probably get $10 from FB billionaire Mark Zuckerberg while the lawyers would laugh their way to the bank with probably $10 million tucked in their suitcases. But that is not the point in my undertaking here.
Lately some of my FB friends shared their disappointments. One says he’s so burnt out that he has no time for God and his relationship is falling apart. Another broke her expensive camera lens. While one has lost her job and not long before her brother passed away. Who can top this one: a family and FB friend has a failing heart and need a donor soon for his transplant. Come to think of it, I believe all of my FB friends have their own personal issues, just like I do. No exceptions. The reason being is that we are human beings, with souls. Highlight the word souls. And there is this time immemorial and historic battle in the heavenly places for our souls. This verse in Ephesians 6:12 signify it: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
To delve on the surface, there are three invariable burdens in life:
Sin– the heaviest one. It embraces guilt, worry or pride. If you are a forgiven Christian and thoughts of past sins still torment you then you forget the ubiquitous reminder in bumper stickers: Christians are not perfect, just forgiven. All have sinned, period. However, the difference between a forgiven sinner and an unrepentant sinner is a pure heart of joy. The former has it, the latter does not.
Stress, on the other hand, plagues us: feelings of responsibility, busyness, burn out, inadequacy and lack of acceptance. Often all this percolate into anger. By my personal experience here is the psychology of anger: outburst and spasm of bad language to loved ones often resulting to broken relationship and ill feelings or actions that we do and regret later on. We have all sort of baggage of unmet needs that result to huge anxiety.
Sadness is another where lots of concerns cause this burden in us: loss of someone you love, promotion that you didn’t get, loss of job and income opportunities, declining health, failing grades at school, divorce, aloneness and so on. Some of us carry baggage of sadness since childhood; a few refuses to unload their baggage! Like Linus in Charlie Brown story who carry his blanket all the time or like the Christian lead character in John Bunyan’s famous book, Pilgrim’s Progress, the baggage never leaves his shoulders.
Where do we drop our baggage? Where do we go?
Before I answer those questions, let me tell you this truth that is going on just below or above the surface: the devil is working behind the scenes. He is always in the details. He is orchestrating all the afflictions to come together and weigh on you. 1 Peter 5:8 says: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” His old Project SDK is always in place and steamrolling you every time. What is his SDK? It simply means his purpose: Steal, Destroy and Kill. This he has long designed and built to rob you of your joy and happiness, your finances. He ruins your relationships. He destroys your physical health and wellness. He devastates your spiritual growth. He kills your body and claims your soul to afflict forever in his abysmal abode. The best example is Job. Read the story of Job and find out how this man of God had suffered under the hand of the chief devil. One bad news after another he heard. He lost his children, his servants, his flocks and his house all in one day. But his story did not end there. Because he was indeed a man of God, he did not take it against God the loss and misery he suffered. Instead he said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” God restored to Job double what he had lost. He was again blessed with seven sons and three daughters. He lived 140 years old and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. You may say that his story is very remote from you. His narrative has no relevance in your personal pain and suffering at present or in the past. But if you ask yourself this question: Does my suffering surpass or at least equal in measure to what Job experienced? I don’t think it is. And to put more notches higher, is it comparable to what Jesus took from a Roman lash clipped with sharp stones and bits of piercing broken glasses and eventually at Golgotha’s cross?
Today if you suffer or the painful experience of the past still haunts you, there are three verses in the Scripture that will solve your woes. These are words of Jesus himself: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke 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. (Matt 11:28-30).
There are three operative words that instruct us to heed and do:
Come– this is an easy one. Let Jesus removes all the unnecessary clutter in your daily schedules. Just go near Him today. But don’t just go but submit to Him whatever is your baggage and let it go. Confess your sin, ask Him to take over and be the Lord over the affairs of your life. If you are trapped in sin, accept His gift of salvation and bask in the freedom of life with Him. Do not love sinfulness and evil. John testified to what Jesus has said: “The Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are sinful. For everyone practicing evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (John 3:19-20)
Take –His yoke. The yoke is symbolic of the burden we carry on our shoulders; He says His burden is easy and light; why not give your burdens to Him? He surely will take care of it. There is no mountain, no storm, and no problem greater than Him. He is the one who ordered the storm to stay calm. Can He not do it also over the storms in your life?
Learn- as a child we were pliant to parental teaching and from those who were older than us. We absorbed easily their instructions. Our mind was like a sponge then. Sad to say in our adult life we forgot the learning mode. We go on our way. We think we can handle everything; that we are in control. Here is what we need to go back to: learn to read on a daily basis the greatest book in the world – the Bible. The Holy Spirit moved and inspired the authors to write it. Empower your mind and heart with the word of God. The Bible will greatly do more for you than the bestsellers of carnal authors J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter), J.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Ring) E.L James (50 Shades). Their best novels don’t even come close with the inspired word of God. It is incomparable.
Come, take and learn. Three simple action steps but doing these in faith you will discover in bliss that the God who created the universe is interested in your personal wellbeing. Try this mind and faith regimen: Imagine you are climbing a grassy, wild flower-filled mountain hill and upon reaching its apex, you let go and heave a sigh of relief, and then you behold the other wondrous hills connected to where you are standing in time. You gaze at the wide blue sky dotted with moving white clouds and the picturesque surroundings before you. You sense freedom and forget your baggage behind. You breathe in flower-fragrant pure air and fill your lungs with cool freshness. You close your eyes and spread your arms wide. Quietly you hear the mellow sound of the hills like a symphony under your flowing wind-swept hair while gentle breeze sweeps on your sun-bright face. In a moment all your senses are fully aware of his presence. He showers you with his love and grace. Instantly you are in awe of the bright light before you and your heart is all praise and worship for Him, and you are filled with inexplicable bliss. You stay there awhile and savor the peace and joy of His presence. You don’t want to leave the place. You wish the moment will never cease. Then He tells you softly He has a plan for you and that He will be with you. You go home and return to your world again refreshed, rejuvenated and with a leap of joy in your heart knowing that He will always be there for you no matter what. Such is the nature of our loving heavenly Father.