Read: Psalm 23 & Matthew 6:25-34
Overwhelmed
Fifth of Five Sundays in the Series: Life Changes
So many of our lives reflect the old story of the straw that broke the camel’s back. You remember, the owner kept loading the poor camel down with one straw after another until that one last straw was too much for the beast to bear. I have never personally worked around a camel, much less loaded one with straw. However, I have worked in environments that were almost unbearable. And we have all felt like we have bent under the weight of one too many problems or tasks.
The straw may be damaged family relationships, or job related stressors. We may find our straw to be of our own making or stacking. We may be guilty of piling on, both ourselves and others around us. Can we find a way to rethink the ways we carry our loads? Can we lighten up a little and keep moving forward? What does God have to say about our heavy burdens?
Author Max Lucado does a fine job of re-thinking the 23rd Psalm in a way which allows us to un-pack and un-pile our lives. He maintains we all attempt to lug around loads of stuff, baggage, we were never intended to carry. I think he is right. In addition the reading from Matthew finds Jesus in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount offering the disciples a new way to live. Jesus offers freedom from worry and baggage which is timely and refreshing for us to hear. I read this week that the most suicides occur on the Monday following the last Sunday in January every year. It has been a long cold winter already and we need to lighten up just a bit. Try smiling, even if you do not feel like it.
Book: Traveling Light. Max Lucado. 2001. W Publishing Group. Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear: The Promise of the 23rd Psalm.
And Yes, I believe we can move just a little closer to home.
Blessings, Dave Weesner
Sunday Worship
Scripture: Psalm 23 & Matthew 6:25-34
Sermon Title: “The Camel’s Broken Back”
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