Perhaps we push ourselves too hard at times – pouring ourselves out time and again when we should learn how to also rest and receive. Every burden is not ours to carry. But sometimes the hard path is for our healing. And it would hurt us more not to endure it.
In many ways, this is Christ in Gethsemane as he’s preparing to face the cross. This is not the easy path, and certainly we understand his desire to find another way. But he willingly submits to what needs to be done despite the difficulties this will entail. And, in the end, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Likewise, we might be faced with a phone call, a project, or public engagement that is exceedingly difficult. And part of us might even wish there was another way. But a deeper part of us knows this is the burden we must bear regardless of how hard it might be otherwise.
To be sure, we could talk ourselves out of it, and most people would understand. They would do the same if they were in our shoes. But we would have a hard time facing ourselves if we shied away from the task before us.
The decision to press forward is not to prove anything to others. Nor should we neglect caring for our own souls along the way. Perhaps, like the angel who ministered to Jesus, we also might let others care for us as we prepare to take up our cross. But we press forward simply because this is the burden God has called us to bear. And we would grieve our own spirit, not to mention God’s, if we failed to do so.
Be kind to yourself and don’t take on more than what’s yours to bear. But courageously accept those difficult paths when this is God’s burden for you. However hard, it is good for your soul in the end.
Photo by Riccardo Mion on Unsplash
