Burdens

Numbers 11:10-12 10 Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased. 11 So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You swore to their fathers?

What burden has been placed on your heart? I have a few burdens on me and these burdens can be very heavy and almost impossible to carry on my own.

Moses had the same problem. He was so heavily burdened for the people he was to lead out of Egypt who all they seemed to do was grumble and moan at him. They were never satisfied.
God had placed the burden on Moses to nurture, care for and carry these people to the promised land but the task becomes so weighty and he realises he simply cannot carry it on his own.

God then asks Moses to bring before Him 70 elders so that He can impart the same burden that Moses has on the 70 so that Moses no longer had to carry the burden on his own.

There are things we are being called to do that look to be more than we can handle. They are bigger than we can bear and not something we feel we can do on our own and we are right. God gives us a burden but He also gives us people around us that can help us and carry that burden alongside us. Doing everything on our own is unnecessary. Pray and ask God to bring people your way who can help bear your burden. Draw on their strengths to take the place of your weaknesses.

It would be unwise of me as a leader not to draw out the potential and abilities in others and to constantly be in control of everything. I am not to be the one in control of every aspect of my burden. When I receive a burden on my heart I pray and return it to God not to get rid of this responsibility but to accept the call and allow God to have full control and have me as a willing servant understanding that I cannot do it on my own strength.

When we assume all the responsibility is on us and we have to do this or that because otherwise there will be no one else to do it and it won't be done perfectly, we have a strong chance of burning out and not accomplishing that which we were burdened for in the first place.

Recognise the gifts and talents of others. Some people may do somethings better than you and that is ok. You might do something better than someone else and that is ok too. Gather around you a team of people who will pray for you, who have the same burden and vision as you and who have unique gifts that will help you carry your burden and do the will of God.

TEAM
T - Tribe with the same culture and language and same spiritual accent of Faith.
E - Equals with different gifts and talents
A - Attitude is healthy and edifying
M - Mature and growing in stature.

What has God called you to do that is a burden on you? Do you feel that you may crack or explode any minute if you are to bear it much longer? Know that Jesus' yolk is easy and His burden is light. Cast your burdens on to Him and He will give your rest and peace to continue on with the great call He has on your life. Don't forget to surround yourself with mature Christians who can pray for you and encourage you and prayerfully seek people who have gifts that need to be used and not buried.

The Harvest

John 4:35-38  35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

A lot of time I feel is spent on waiting for that day when revival will come. But revival comes when each of us steps out and lays claim to that which God has granted us.

The harvest, Jesus tells us, is not 4 months from now but it is now. It is white for harvest.
In order to harvest a field you need to first own the field or work for the one who owns the field. To just go hacking away and harvest a field that isn't yours is theft.

God has given us the field. He commands us to go out and preach the gospel and make disciples. God owns the field and the Harvest therein.
When we work for the owner of the field we need to take hold of the authority given us to harvest. We are given the same authority to harvest the field as the owner has. Not because we are simply working for the owner but that the owner is our Father and we His sons and daughters and thus heirs.

We haven't even sown this harvest. That work has already been done. All the ploughing, planting and watering and growing has been done. All we need to do is reap what others have sown.

It is something that seems a little hard to get your head around. That everyone else has done all the hard work and all we need to do is go out and gather the fruit of another's labour.
Why then is it such a difficult thing for us to do? All the hard work is done and we have been told to just go and do it now. Not 4 months, 2 years or 10 years from now.

I am 30 now and I feel like I have wasted so much time in fear. Yes maybe these years have been years of preparation for something I am to do in a few months or few years from now but right now? What am I doing right now? One of the reasons I have started writing my Blog is because I feel that I have so much I would like to speak out that is floating around in my head that I just need to get it out on paper. If I don't I become bogged down and miserable. This is not the only thing I am going to do in my life but it is a start. Grabbing a hold of every opportunity to reach others be it at church on Sunday as you serve and give out church notices or teach children or pour tea or preach. Be it while shopping for groceries or paying your bills. Are you slacking off on the field having a picnic or are you actively reaping the harvest?

Sometimes it would be nice to join others having a picnic instead of doing work but when we reap we receive wages and gather fruit for eternal life so that both those who have sown and us who reap will rejoice together. I would rather forgo the picnic and store up treasures in Heaven and feast at the table of the Lord.

I say that I love people but what I really mean is that on average I actively love those who are nice people and who smile back and who are friendly and don't cut me off in traffic or aren't rude and offensive.
We need to actively love everyone who crosses our path. No one should be left behind because we are too busy.
You know how when you get a new pair of shoes or you win something or something really good happens or there is this really exciting secret that you are just busting to tell someone, maybe even facebook about? We take for granted that the gospel is called the Good News. We have forgotten that this is really exciting stuff.
We should be bursting with this news to share with anyone and everyone who will listen (or doesn't) but fear and other things we have made more time for and made more important get in the way.
The news of Jesus love and sacrifice and His restoration for all those who call on His name is way better than any pair of shoes, any secret, any win in the History of the whole entire world!

Are we going to be like the Samaritan who went out of his way or are we going to walk on the other side like the priest and the Levite did? They were too busy and full of excuses as to why they couldn't stop to help. The Samaritan saw this man as a person who needed help and he not only took him to Jericho but he took him there and got him cared for and said he would be back.

This is exactly what Jesus did for us. He saw you and I beaten up and dying looking terrible in our sin and yet He came, reached down and picked us up out of the dirt. He left us the Holy Spirit to be our comforter and to heal our brokeness. Jesus didn't just leave us He said He would be back but that He is going to prepare a place for us.

This great thing has been done for us so why shouldn't we do the same for others?

The harvest is now. It is so white you cannot miss it. Lift up your eyes and look out over the field and see for yourself.

You Are my All

Revelation 22:13  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.

When I heard this song it really spoke to me of who God is. He is my first and my last and my future and my past. He has always been with me, will always be with me. Everything begins with Him and everything Ends with Him.

The last few weeks have been very trying. I have had a whole lot thrown my way and it has taken a lot of fight and leaning on God to help me through. I have been determined to not let anything rob me this year of joy and of the call placed upon my life.
Lately I feel as though I am stuck on an obstacle course. The more I step out the more I need to step over what is thrown at my feet. I feel like my life is like one of my kids' rooms. To get from one end to another I have to step over 12 things.

I was praying for a young lady this week and got an image of God's hand reaching down and her hand being in His. That there will be obstacles but like a father or mother with a child He lifts us over obstacles. He cares for us and nurtures us. When we learn to walk we aren't blind-folded and left to run off in any direction only to trip and fall. God will never let you fail or fall. He holds your hand and guides you.

Stepping out has been so overwhelming and new and I feel so unprepared and ill equipped for what is set before me. I can turn around at any time and say it is too hard and I don't want to do it but it is a desire that God has placed in my heart. A desire that demands action.

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Some think that what you desire will be given to you when you seek God but I read this as when you seek God He gives you the desires of your heart. In other words the desires of your heart are not the ones you put there but the ones God has put there.
The desire of my heart has been put in my heart by God. I would never have thought to put these things in my heart. I am a girl. On a regular basis I desire chocolate and coffee. But when I seek God I find a desire is placed in my heart for young women and those that need encouragement. I get the desire to speak and write.
I don't write too well and I do not speak that well publicly so not something I would be jumping at in my own steam.
What I do is all from the desire God has given me. And then because I desire what He has put in my heart He grants it to me with a resounding YES! 2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

So through all the obstacles and calls on my life and the stepping out and fighting against the unseen things I am reminded that God is great. God is mighty. He is the greatest Author. He is the First and the Last. He knows my Future and He knows my Past. He sees what I have done and He knows what I will do and He still loves me.

In all that I do and all that I am God is my all. He is everything to me and without Him holding all this together it would be a complete disaster. So I give Him all the Glory and Honour and Praise for He is my First and He is my Last, my Furture and my Past.