Your Burden Is Your Blessing
I am bi-vocational. I am a pastor, but I also work twenty-five hours a week for FedEx.
And being bi-vocational is a burden. It means less time to work on the church and a much tighter schedule. It means spending a big chunk of my time on work that I'm not particularly passionate about, with people that... require extra grace.
I often pray that God will lift my burden and let me go back to full-time ministry. And every time the answer is the same. "Your burden is your blessing." Let me explain.
Nothing can happen to us unless God allows it, and He will use it for our good and His glory (see Romans 8:28). That's the answer to one of the questions in our Home Discipleship Catechism. What it means is that God is in control of everything, so nothing will happen to you unless He allows it. And it means that God is loving, so God will only allow something to happen to you if it is for your good and His glory.
So if God doesn't answer your prayer to lift your burden, then that means He wants you to have your burden. And if He wants you to have your burden, then that means your burden is what is best for you right now. It means that your burden makes you better; it makes you more useful to God; it makes you more humble and teachable; it is keeping you safe; it is making you a better person. If God is not ready to lift your burden, then that means that your burden is actually your blessing.
This doesn't mean that you have to like your burden. It doesn't mean that you can't pray for relief. And it doesn't mean that you are destined to carry your burden for the rest of your life. But it does change the way you view your burden. It should make you thankful for your burden. And it should help you to cultivate contentment, peace, and joy while you carry your burden.
Paul the apostle had a burden -- "a thorn in the flesh." He prayed multiple times for God to take it away, but God said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." In other words, "I will help you to carry your burden, and to have peace and joy while you carry it. But I want you to carry this burden, because your burden makes you better."
I know your burden is heavy, and uncomfortable, and painful. But remember that your burden is your blessing. You are exactly where God wants you to be for now. Your burden is exactly what you need right now -- for your good and for God's glory.
And being bi-vocational is a burden. It means less time to work on the church and a much tighter schedule. It means spending a big chunk of my time on work that I'm not particularly passionate about, with people that... require extra grace.
I often pray that God will lift my burden and let me go back to full-time ministry. And every time the answer is the same. "Your burden is your blessing." Let me explain.
Nothing can happen to us unless God allows it, and He will use it for our good and His glory (see Romans 8:28). That's the answer to one of the questions in our Home Discipleship Catechism. What it means is that God is in control of everything, so nothing will happen to you unless He allows it. And it means that God is loving, so God will only allow something to happen to you if it is for your good and His glory.
So if God doesn't answer your prayer to lift your burden, then that means He wants you to have your burden. And if He wants you to have your burden, then that means your burden is what is best for you right now. It means that your burden makes you better; it makes you more useful to God; it makes you more humble and teachable; it is keeping you safe; it is making you a better person. If God is not ready to lift your burden, then that means that your burden is actually your blessing.
This doesn't mean that you have to like your burden. It doesn't mean that you can't pray for relief. And it doesn't mean that you are destined to carry your burden for the rest of your life. But it does change the way you view your burden. It should make you thankful for your burden. And it should help you to cultivate contentment, peace, and joy while you carry your burden.
Paul the apostle had a burden -- "a thorn in the flesh." He prayed multiple times for God to take it away, but God said, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." In other words, "I will help you to carry your burden, and to have peace and joy while you carry it. But I want you to carry this burden, because your burden makes you better."
I know your burden is heavy, and uncomfortable, and painful. But remember that your burden is your blessing. You are exactly where God wants you to be for now. Your burden is exactly what you need right now -- for your good and for God's glory.
Comments
Post a Comment