Grains of Sand

Lou illustrates the truth by nature

“ Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth ” —Psalm 46:10, NIV. Sometimes we feel as though the weight of the world rests on our shoulders. This expression comes from Greek mythology, which said that Zeus punished Atlas by forcing him to carry the world on his shoulders forever. It is also said that Atlas tricked Hercules into carrying the weight, but Hercules returned the favour and Atlas ended up right back where he started. When we feel that everything depends on us (ergo: the weight of the world resting on our shoulders) it’s time to step out from under the burden. Will it drop to the floor and break into a million pieces as, supposedly, the world would have if Atlas had just dropped it? Instead of having to clean up the mess and sweep up the broken pieces we might find something quite surprising. Some bits might fall to the ground of our lives, but the important stuff, the “God” stuff will be just fine. You know...

God had provided rest and refreshment for Elijah. He was ready to hear God's voice once again, and the Lord sent him into the mountains for a private consultation (1 Kings 19:11). Elijah had felt totally alone. God, having provided for his physical and emotional needs, was now about to provide for Elijah someone who could help him carry the burden of ministry. How reminiscent of what follows yesterday's key verse from Matthew 11. First of all, Jesus comes alongside and says: " Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest " (11:28). Then He promises to partner with us to carry the burden He assigns to us. He says: " Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light " —Matthew 11:29, 30. A "yoke" is a wooden crosspiece that unites two animals so that they can better pull together. In our spiritual yoking with Chris...