Take it Vertical
It’s rather funny – it seems like only yesterday I was walking in within a few minutes of curfew, hearing mom ask if I had a good evening. Looking back, I’m quite sure her question was just as much about reassurance that I was OK as it was curiosity about my evening.
Now, as a parent of a teenage son, I find myself sitting on the edge of my couch worried about my son and his well-being. Oh sure, I hope he and his friends have a good time, but my primary concern is that he makes it home safe, doesn’t get into an accident or make a poor decision.
I think any parent can connect with those feelings and if you’re not yet a parent, I suspect you can look to a relationship in which you’ve had some similar concerns. Really, it’s only natural to feel this way – to have our minds wander down the darkest, most harmful paths imaginable.
Shockingly (that’s sarcasm) worry has been prevalent as a human trait for 2000+ years! So much so, that it is specifically discussed and noted in the Bible. Here’s what Jesus had to say In Luke 12:25-26
25“can you add even one hour to your life by worrying? 26You can’t do that very little thing. So why worry about the rest?”
What our Lord says here is right – it adds nothing to our lives. In fact, if you think about it, it’s a huge drain of our time and sucks the energy from our soul. You see, instead of spending our time worrying about this or that, staying earthly (or horizontal), we need to take our worries, our burdens, vertical.
There are several different passages that our God shows us His willingness to take our burdens and worries.
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are tired and are carrying heavy loads. I will give you rest.
OR
Psalm 55:22 Turn your worries over to the Lord, He will keep you going, he will never let godly people be shaken.
You see, our God who is merciful, sits upon a throne of Grace. God wants us to talk and share our burdens – wants us to take what lays heavy upon our hearts and minds and lift them up.
Take some time to have a conversation with the Lord, give over to God the stresses that are weighing you down. Struggles, changes, friends, family, or a combination of any, all or something totally different. My point here is just to have a conversation with God – take that weight from the horizontal and take it vertical.