Too heavy

But the Spirit shares the burden June 23, 2025

Numbers 11:1, 11, 14-18 Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. … And Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? … I can’t carry the burden of all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! … Then the Lord to Moses, “Gather before me seventy men … I will take some of the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will not have to carry it alone.”

As we picked raspberries in her father’s garden a few days ago, my granddaughter Juliana, 2 ½, said, “Grammy, I mulch. But sometimes it’s too heavy, so my Daddy helps me.”

Juliana (right) “camping” with her sister and cousins in Grammy and PopPop’s back yard Friday.

I’ve been smiling over that ever since. How many two-year-olds do you know who say with pride, “I mulch”? How many have tried to carry a 40-pound bag of wood chips?

But Juju’s statement went deep into my soul. I, too, try to carry burdens too heavy for me. And my Father helps me. Thank you, Father.

In your life, what is too heavy for you to carry by yourself?

My friend Rhonda and her husband Jim have carried gardening burdens for me this spring, a responsibility too heavy for me as I have faced other challenges. I am so deeply grateful.

Moses found himself desperate for help with dealing with the complaints of the people he shepherded for forty years in the desert, a burden too heavy for him alone.

God, who called us through Jesus to live “freely and lightly” (Matthew 11:30 in The Message), promises not to give us more than we can bear. He calls us to share the weight of our burdens with other people.

If life feels overwhelming right now, I invite you to think about these Scriptures and ask the Holy Spirit who can share your load. I’m doing this exercise myself today.

Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.

1 Corinthians 10:13 The temptations (peirasmos, testings) in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

Galatians 6:2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

I will give you rest Sing through the Bible

The fruit in our lives comes from God

But God makes fruit grow

Hosea 14:8 [The Lord says] Stay away from idols! I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green; all your fruit comes from me.

John 15:5 [Jesus said] I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

Shutterstock: MVolodymyr

We’re home from our vacation, spent tucked away in a small town in Ohio. For two weeks, Dave and I delighted in extended devotional times, hiked in the snow and cold, played games, built jigsaw puzzles, read books, had important conversations, slept (!), and watched a few movies. We are grateful for this restorative time, balancing and healing the intense stress of the last weeks of 2024. The challenge now will be not to get sucked back into running on adrenaline 24/7, as we are both committed to big projects in 2025.

I found myself drawn to the prophets, particularly the minor prophets, those I don’t often read or pay attention to. So from now to Easter, I plan to deep dive for “pearls” from the prophets to share with you.

In light of the work Dave and I believe God has called us to, I chose Hosea 14:8, quoted above, as my “year verse” for 2025. It reminds me of how easily I can get distracted from what God wants for me and make other things more important. These “idols” don’t yield good fruit. Neither do our own efforts, in themselves. The fruit in our lives comes from God, from his life active in us.

I would love for you to join me in exploring “pearls from the prophets”—not just reading my thoughts, but sharing your own as well.

Advent ABC: Quiet Place

Isaiah 28:12, 30:15 (Mark 6:31) God has told his people, “Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest. … Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength.”

Shutterstock: Mashosh

During Elijah’s struggle with anger and depression, three violent events drove the prophet into a cave on Mt. Sinai: a mighty windstorm, an earthquake, and fire. After that God spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice (1 Kings 19). This story has inspired dozens of artists, famous and less well known. This is one of the latter. Interesting that Elijah had to face so much before he was able to hear God speak to him. And it’s interesting that through the entire period of his suffering, God was present with him and caring for him.

Do you take time to access the Quiet Place, God’s heart, so you can hear him speak to you?

In these tumultuous and busy days, taking time to be still and rest in his strength and sovereignty and wisdom and grace, and receive his quiet direction, is more important than ever.

A Quiet Place/Near to the Heart of God, sung by Alessandra Sorace

Rest

But God is full of compassion

Isaiah 44:6, 10 This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God. … Who but a fool would make his own god—an idol who cannot help him one bit?”

James 5:11 The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

On my trip home from Colombia, I read a book called And I His Servant by Dr. Dick Hillis, the founder of our mission organization, OC International. It’s a collection of his stories, many of them about his experiences in Asia beginning in 1933. (Dr. Hillis’s biography is also available, called Steel in His Soul.)

One chapter, “Sincerely Yours,” would fit neatly into Isaiah 44. Dr. Hillis describes the process of making a mud idol, then says this:

But before I made a further judgment about their sanity, I decided to ask why the people bowed before these idols. “Madam,” I said, “for the last ten minutes you have been on your knees bowing before this deity. Would you please tell me why?”

“Sir,” she replied. “My husband is out of work. My children are hungry. The landlord has threatened to throw us out. My burdens are heavy and I am asking for help.”

“And you, Sir,” I said. …

“We have seven children. The youngest is two weeks old. Her mother is very sick. The midwife can’t stop her bleeding. She has a fever and won’t eat and I am afraid for my children and their mother’s life.”

The answer to why people bow before gods who have eyes and cannot see and ears and cannot hear, is simple. They have burdens they cannot carry and fears they cannot quiet. They have never met the One who said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28-30).

It occurs to me today that perhaps we create idols—likely not made of wood or mud, but rather of other things that matter more to us than the Creator, Redeemer, and Lord of Heaven’s Armies—for the same reasons: burdens we cannot carry and fears we cannot quiet. We deny, numb, and distract ourselves with our choices of addictions and indulgences, but nothing is really solved or healed. We fight for our independence only to discover we’re not capable of managing life all by ourselves.

And the Lord says to us with compassion, “Come to Me. I will give you rest.”