The Cares of this Life

I have always believed that God has solutions for our every problem.  As I grew in skill and wisdom, I became very good at helping to make life smoother for my family and myself, tackling areas that did not run well and thinking ahead so that other matters would not go “wrong.”  Imagine my surprise when I became over-burdened with the cares of this life.

Jesus told us in the parable of the sower and the seeds that one area of our hearts where the word of God would not grow well was the area where we let thorns grow; the thorns are the cares of this life (Lk 8:14).  The first “care” Jesus mentions is “life’s worries.” The next two are “riches and pleasures.” Though we can avoid the love of this life and other pursuits that would snare us, Christians often feel called to set their mind on the problems of life that need to be solved, and the burden they carry increases until they can bear no more.

God gives men and women the wonderful capacity to not only endure the troubles of this life, but also to labor with Him on areas they are called to.  Each person has his or her own gift to maintain life and to prevent harm.  And yet, even Jesus said there would be troubles in this life.  He did not eliminate them all, and neither can we.  In fact, Jesus did not bring peace between men (Mt 10:34).  Serving God can put us in positions that actually cause things to run very unsmoothly.

Though we each are called to serve God in ways that address areas we care about, how can we prevent ourselves from being held captive by these cares?  Indeed, some problems are not solved in our life-time. And, the longer we walk with God on the earth, the more we see that we ourselves have troubled areas within us that need to be addressed. I believe Jesus gave us advise that will prevent us from becoming over-burdened when He asked His people to take His yoke upon them, for then their burden would be light (Mt 11:30).  If we are yoked to Jesus, He will pull the heavier burden of the problems that need to be worked on, and our walk alongside of Him will become lighter.

How do we let Jesus carry the heavier yoke and pull the heavier load? We must trust Him.  To walk in God’s kingdom requires us to have faith in Him, just as a little child has faith (Mt 18:3-4).  Though we can do great things, in our mind we must be humble like a little child, trusting God for the outcome.  Our minds can become entangled in the problems of our lives, causing us to worry and become over-burdened with what we care about.  But the humility of child-like faith is to not think above God; we must give Him the highest place in solving problems and running life, and not let our thoughts contend with what He is doing (2 Cor 10:5). 

To come to the place of humility of mind, we cannot base our trust on what we see God do about those things we entrust Him with.  Paul writes “For I know Whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.” (2 Tim 1:12).  Though his life was full of suffering, Paul did not attempt to change these circumstances.  Instead, he trusted God’s purposes for not only his own life, but for the kingdom as well.  We have Paul’s writings because God faithfully worked in his life, despite the problems that remained and eventually took his life.

Let us not let the troubles of this life over-run our hearts with their burdens.  Today, take Jesus yoke upon yourself, trusting Him as a little child would.  If we have this humbleness in our minds, the word of God will bear much fruit in us, and we will be successful in serving God.  Amen.