Sometimes, I reach out to the lamp next to me to turn it on and it doesn’t work. Why not? It isn’t plugged into the outlet so it has so source of power. That’s how we are when we decide to operate all on our own, making choices without praying and consulting the Lord. We move away from our source and lose our ability to make a wise choice. The source of all of our strength, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, is our close relationship with Jesus. He wants to be our source all the time so that when the waves and storms rage against us, we are accustomed to running to our source and plugging into His omnipotent strength to help us through the situation.

I have been challenged lately with health issues that seem never ending. At my follow up appointment yesterday, the doctor pronounced that after more than a week of strong antibiotics, I still have bronchitis. No surprise for me to hear since I am still using my rescue inhaler several times a day! So, next week, I go to see a specialist to see if my vocal cords were badly affected by the medication that I reacted to. Then she wants me to see a pulmonologist. She couldn’t believe that I have reached my age (72), had asthma my entire life and never seen a lung specialist. Well, whatever. I will go where they tell me to go, pray about doing what they tell me to do and trust the Lord to be my source of strength and healer. I was talking with my husband yesterday and told him that I cannot imagine what it will be like in heaven to draw a breath and feel the air completely since I have never, not once in my life, had that experience. I know my body will be different and resurrected, but I am so looking forward to being truly healed and whole. In the meantime, I walk the earth, take the breaths God has given me and am thankful that I can live each day and see the wonders He has created. Do I feel strong? No. But I feel strengthened by the power of His love and might and know that He is working on me for His purposes. I want to end my days yoked to the One who knows and loves me best and who has cared for me all of these years. May everyone who reads these words know the real source of strength in your lives and come to know Jesus as the only support you really need.

When You Need Support

Everyone carries burdens, and the things we go through shape the way we view the world, and ourselves. But we weren’t meant to carry our burdens alone.  

In fact, Jesus says to the people following Him—

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. … For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 NLT

A yoke is a heavy wooden beam that lies across a pair of oxen, evenly distributing the weight of the loads they carry. But the term was also used by Jewish Rabbis. “The yoke of the law” symbolized complete submission to God’s law, and Rabbis taught that becoming yoked to it would free the Jews from enslavement to the world.

Jesus is using a phrase that His Jewish followers would have easily understood, but then He flips the illustration. He tells the crowd that they must yoke themselves to Him—because He is the fulfillment of their law. 

When they do this, the burdens they carry won’t be heavy at all—because He will bear the weight of their burdens.
 
Paul references this teaching in his letter to the Galatian Christians:  

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

The law of Christ is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love others as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). But the only way we can fulfill the law of Christ is if we bind ourselves to Him. When we are yoked to Jesus, He becomes our source of strength. 

He helps us endure hard situations and enables us to walk away from poor decisions. He fills us up with His love so that we can pour His love out onto others. He gives us the capacity to support other Christ-followers just like He supports us.   

Just as Jesus bore our sins and suffering, we are called to bear the suffering of others. In this way, we show them the love of Christ and guide them toward Jesus.

Right now, spend a few minutes talking to God about the burdens you need help carrying, and then allow Him to show you the people in your life He wants you to support.