Asking God to Make the Burden Lighter
Recently someone I deeply respect reminded me: “You know you are allowed to pray and ask God to make the burden lighter.”
I was caught off guard. I have always thought that if God called me to something, especially something as weighty as disrupting the child trafficking industry, I just had to grit my teeth, square my shoulders, ball my hands into a fist and carry it. But, I am becoming aware that is not the heart of God.
Yes, I feel this calling deeply. But I do not have to do it alone. I have to tell myself ever.single.day. This is hard for me to absorb because I feel alone (very alone) in this fight….
- Not everyone is at a point where they can believe my words as truth. (How extremely blessed are they)
- Not everyone holds the conviction that I have against exploitation of children and some people are convicted in other causes.
- Some people won’t have THE AWKWARD CONVERSATION or the intense lesson of understanding what CHILD TRAFFICKING actually is. At the least, people should know where you stand on this topic! Help protect your family and friends by affirming age limits when it comes to approved sexual nature and look into eyes when you are assessing someone’s age in the workforce! (Think restaurants, think farms, think laundry services, bars, and seasonal tourist driven companies. Sex tourism is a thing.)
But as reaction to my last post, It was pointed out to me that God is not just assigning me a mission and walking away. He is with me. He is leading me. He is already ahead of me, preparing the way, even when I cannot see the next step. The people that apply to reasons 1-3 don’t matter, I have to keep my eyes on my leader. My driver of this car we are in. I am actually not alone.
Here is the honest truth: I might fail the LSATs. I might not pass the Bar exam…. at the rate things are going, I might run out of money before I finish. But even then it will still be okay. Because success in God’s eyes is not measured by test scores, a law license or financial stability. It is measured by obedience, by trust, and by the willingness to keep walking with Him.
So my prayer has shifted. Instead of only asking God to make me strong enough to carry the weight, I am learning to ask Him to lighten it. To make the yoke fit in a way that does not crush me or my heart. To remind me that He can shoulder most of it all of it, if I give it to him.
The calling may remain heavy, but the load is no longer. I need God to be carrying it with me. As long as I keep casting all my cares upon him.