I was sitting on a high rock, overlooking a creek. To the left is a mimosa tree which looks beautiful but is not very sturdy. When we would climb around as children, we used this tree as a stabilizer to steady ourselves as we scrambled down the side of the rock. However, being a flimsy tree, we could not put our whole weight on it. It could not be our main source of support. It would have cracked, and we would have been injured.
As I sat there, I contemplated how in life we often lean too heavily on others as our source of getting to where we are going. Human beings are not meant to carry all the weight of our struggles. While we are supposed to help carry one another’s burdens, we are not to become their source of security. That position is only to be filled by God. We can counsel them, steady them, and point them in the way, but we are never to become their sole source of strength.
This does not mean never open up and allow others to help you or hold back from helping those in need. It is simply a reminder that it is God who we cast our cares on.1 It is God who is our refuge and strength.2
So, as we take on this new year, check yourself to see where you are putting all the weight of life. No human can hold it, but God can take it all. Christ tells us to come to Him, all who are weary and heavy laden, and He will give us rest.3 When we are weak, He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). 1 Peter 5:7 tells us, “cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for You.” It is the Lord who strengthens.
~ Moriah
