Does life have you down? Do all of the details and to do lists bulge into an insurmountable burden; a burden that weighs you down so much that you can’t move on? A burden so heavy that you don’t even want to out of bed in the morning? But God promises us that He is always with us. His strength is always available. Like the manna provided to the Israelites on a day by day basis, God is there every morning to help you carry that burden for that day. And He’ll be there tomorrow for the next day’s journey.
But He’s not only there to help you carry the burden. He’s also there to help you get stronger so you can constantly grow closer to Him and learn to turn burdens into opportunities.
The following devotional was submitted by a member of the Williamstown UMC….
Anyone in Christ is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. (2 Cor. 5:17, NIV)
2 Corinthians 4:8-18
8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. NIV
I struggle with an illness that saps my strength and energy. As a result, for quite some time I have had difficulty getting myself out of bed in the morning. But I keep a small picture next to my bed, which a friend sent me, of a Phoenix (mythological creature that rises from the ashes), with the words, “Still I rise.”
I added the following two verses to it and turned it into a bookmarker:
- Anyone in Christ is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. (2 Cor. 5:17)
- Therefore, we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. (2 Cor. 4:16)
Many of us go through trying times with various illnesses and limitations, as well as dealing with the emotional fallout of accepting this reality. These words and picture remind me that each day is not only an opportunity to rise again both physically and emotionally, but also to become a new creation in Christ. Being renewed in this way is an on-going process of transformation so that each day is an opportunity to move further along this path.
And now, each morning after looking at my bookmark, I stretch my arms upward. I then pray for God to reach down and grab hold and fill me with the strength of his Holy Spirit.
