♫Lay down the burden of your heart,
I know you'll never miss it.
Show your Father where it hurts,
And let your Father lift it.
♬ watch
here
Or if you prefer, here is the equally lovely ORIGINAL VERSION by Jesse
Winchester, which I must one day sing to my daughter too.
For bed-time stories, we were reading scripture with the kids and got to the story of young King Solomon conversing with God.
At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 1 King 3.5
Thinking that this could be an opportune time to
find out their hidden concerns in life, I turned first to my son and asked,
“If you were Solomon, what would you have asked for?”
“Uhmm, I
think I would want to be king forever!”
“And why
would you want to be king forever?” I probed.
“Dad, do
you think President Uhuru can afford to have pizza whenever he wants?”
I knew where
this was heading and so I quickly turned to my bubbly daughter hoping for a
more ‘serious’ conversation.
“And you
baby girl, what would you have asked for?”
Without missing a beat, she exclaimed, “I will ask for a chocolate-chip factory and unlimited lollipops for the rest of my life!”
A wild debate about the frequency of buying pizzas and chocolates promptly ensued. After a few minutes, and not without a little difficulty, I finally managed to steer the conversation into a more sober discussion on what to ask for, who to ask when and when. Needless to say, that very day, I learnt that while I worry about covid, loans, business, work and the end of the world, my little ones are primarily concerned about the regularity of certain snacks and meals in their day-to-day life.
You see my friend, each of us carries a burden. It might not be the same kind of burden from one person to the next, but it is a burden nevertheless. As He interacted with people, Jesus could discern that many were burdened with various loads of life. And as with the miracles for the sick and hungry, and deliverance for the spiritually oppressed, he had a ready solution for our burdens.
“Take my yoke upon you,” He
said, “and learn from me… and you will find rest for your souls.”
In all of history Jesus is acknowledged as the greatest personality who ever lived. We can learn from Jesus by obeying His teachings and by copying the pattern of His life. However, if we are to learn from Him we must answer the question, how did Jesus deal with the burdens of His life?
Jesus had a very public life and if He walked the earth today, He would probably be a controversial public figure. Why? With His
strong counter-cultural views and authoritative demeanour, Jesus would likely be
at constant logger-heads with most of our beloved religious leaders. There
would also be some pretty wild speculations among religious pundits regarding
His 'disappearing' moments.
"He says that He goes off to pray", they would say. Why doesn’t he pray in church like everyone else? Does he have to pray in secluded places every so often and for such lengths of time?”
“He does look like he prays to a strange God.” They would surmise.
“No wonder he is so unconventional. We'll soon know, but it certainly looks like he is forming a cult!” They would conclude.
When we read the gospel of Luke, we notice that there is particular focus on Jesus’ prayer life. Sample these.
• But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. 5:16
• Now it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to
pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer with God. 6:12
• Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples
were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” 19:18
• About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John
and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 19:28
• One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he
finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as
John taught his disciples.” 11:1
• He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down
and prayed... 22:41
From these we can deduce that Jesus busy, public life was supported by very private moments of faithful and consistent prayer. The book of Hebrews confirms that Jesus tackled His most trying moments by retreating to prayer.
While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and
pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from
death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Hebrews
5:7
I have long held that this is where Jesus' secret lay. I also think that this is where we fail the most. Our too little times of prayer may only obtain the barest of spiritual resources from our heavenly Father. Think of it this way, if the Son of God spent a good portion of His earthly life taking His anxieties in prayer to the one who could save Him, why do we think that we can get by with less?
Tell me, what is your cumulative prayer-time for last week? A wise man said;
“Pray when you don’t feel like praying, and then pray some
more when you feel like praying!”
How many times, you ask?
David prayed;
As for me, I call to God,
and the LORD saves me.
Evening, morning and noon
I cry out in distress,
and he hears my voice.
I tell my kids that the most basic pattern of prayer is to pray at least three times a day. Evening, morning and noontime like David and Daniel (Daniel 6:10). When we invest too little of our time or are indifferent to God, He leaves us to our own devices. However, when we strive to create times and spaces where we consistently go to Him as Jesus did, we will learn how not to carry heavy loads around. We shall find that ‘rest’ that our souls subconsciously crave. As with Jesus, this is possible even in the midst of seemingly insurmountable demands.
So once again;
Earth is hard.
Will you take Jesus hard or,
Will you take your own hard?
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