Weight of the world

"I know the weight of this world can take you down like gravity...."  -Tenth Avenue North

It hurts.  Thinking about everything.

Okay. I'll break out of my vague little bubble here...

Have you ever felt like the weight of the world was on your shoulders?

Illness, teen depression, alchoholism, poverty, suicide, shattered self-image, starvation....

Don't freak out, these things are not ALL my issues but they're just a few of this worlds'.

I could go on and on and on and on and probably never be able to list all of the problems that need to be fixed...

But yesterday as I was driving with my mom, my heart began to ache.  We were discussing a friend of hers who has fallen.  Fallen away from her family, her marriage and a happy life.  She is extremely sick and without hope...and every single person except for 1 or 2 have completely given up on her...and I began to think of ways we could turn her life around..but came up empty.

My thought is this...we only have this tiny little life which is basically no more than the smallest, insignificant spec in history to help other people and make this world into a better place.  Yet God is in us and He cares and wants the most full and wonderful life for every single one of us...but not everyone can get there on their own.

Too many people to help and too little time.  I could list over 15 friends/people in my life that I feel I haven't invested enough time in.  I have some relationships I've given up on because they proved to be a painful challenge where forgiveness hasn't easily come from my lips.

It instantly brought a deep sadness over me as I began to wonder if so many of the people in this world who are seeking out help may never get what they need...even people in my own life.

They may never find that friend to share their hearts with, a job to cover their bills, a place to rest their head at night, a stable life with their family, a chance to live out a dream, children to love and care for, or the most important of all, a solid relationship with Christ.

I instantly realized how much God had shielded me from over the course of my life and how much His grace had made a way FOR as I continue to follow in His steps.

Psalm 91:4 says, "He will cover you with his wings; you will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend you."

God was guiding me through the dark, weaving a path through my tumultuous highschool years...shielding and gracefully setting my heart in a relatively safe place than where it might have been if I had stepped out all alone.  He was building a foundation in me that helped me to trust solely in the perfect God that He is and less on people around me. 

Last year, I had put so much of my trust in people, expecting every single one to live up to my high expectations....only to end up free-falling deeper into a darkness I couldn't shake every time somebody let me down.

Here's my message to all of you: IT'S TIME TO SHAKE IT OFF!!!

Sorry to be blunt, but it is!!

Reading my bible this morning, God pointed me to a verse that I needed to hear so badly after yesterday night...

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of harvest to send out laborers into his harvest..." -Matthew 9:37-38.

Though there are millions in this world who are struggling to survive, there ARE people out there trying to pour God's love BACK into the broken hearts and dreams of this world.  You are just one person but making a difference in even one life during the course of yours is reason for the angels to REJOICE!!

Never feel like YOU have to take on the worlds' struggles because God is a God of perfect peace.  He has given us a place to lay our burdens and that is on Him.  The only thing we can do is pray for more leaders to be born and brought into this world for His cause, so that other people will finally SEE and ACT on what needs to be done for this world to change once and for all. 

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid..." -John 14:27

God, let Your strength calm our fears and remind us that You have things under control and You will use us in great ways if we let you into our hearts.