Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing so openly what is on your heart. There is a lot weighing on you right now, concern for your dad who is not well, practical needs like getting to church, getting what you need, waiting for money that is owed to you, hoping your scooter keeps working and that travel goes safely before winter, and deep care for your mum with her eye issue, her mental health struggles, and the foot surgery coming in late October. It is understandable that you feel stretched trying to keep up with everything and to get things done on time, and also carrying worry about illness spreading in the world.
Jesus spoke to people who felt exactly this kind of weariness when He said, come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. In the days of Jeremiah, many were going around talking about the heavy burden of the Lord, and the Lord corrected them and said He had not laid that heavy burden on them. That same confusion happens today. People often feel pressed down and say God has put a crushing weight on them, when in truth the heaviness comes from other places.
One heavy burden every person can carry is trying to live only to please himself, to manage everything by his own strength and to make everything turn out right. That will always leave a person agitated and exhausted because it can never be fully satisfied. Another kind of heaviness comes from burdens we take on ourselves that God never asked us to carry, or that others place on us, expectations and demands that are not from Him. What Jesus offers is different. His burden is light because it is simply to do the will of the Father and to live to please God. That life, lived in trust and obedience, is not meant to crush you but to give rest even while you are busy and responsible. If what you are carrying feels like it is about to break you, it is a sign to pause and ask whether you are trying to carry it alone, and to bring it to Him and exchange it for His lighter way.
Part of that lighter way is learning to walk with Him day by day, doing what is right before Him and trusting Him with what you cannot control, like the weather, whether a machine will work, or whether a trip will go smoothly. You can pray about each of these practical needs and then rest in His care, asking for wisdom for each step and trusting Him to provide.
Your care for your parents is precious to God. Scripture says to honor your father and mother and to obey parents in the Lord, for this is right. That honoring includes the kind of help you are trying to give your mum as she needs more assistance, and your concern for your dad. At the same time, honoring does not mean you must carry everything alone without help. It is right to seek wise counsel, to ask the doctor honest questions, and to look for practical support from others as her needs increase after surgery. Loving them well also means caring for your own strength so you can continue to serve them faithfully.
Regarding health, please do not measure faith by physical condition. Some of the most faithful followers of Jesus live with ongoing health problems, and that does not mean they lack faith or commitment. We do not always understand why God allows illness or why He heals one person and not another, for His ways are not our ways. The apostle John wrote to his friend Gaius that he wished above all things that he would prosper and be in good health even as his soul prospered, which shows God does care about our bodies, and there is a real connection between peace in the soul and health in the body, yet it is a wish and a prayer, not a guarantee that strong faith always brings perfect health. We can pray with hope for your dad and for your mum, including her eye and her upcoming surgery, and trust God with the outcome, knowing He loves them more than we do.
And for the fear about disease spreading worldwide, remember that God remains sovereign over the nations and over your life. Worry about what might happen far away can become another heavy burden you were not meant to carry alone. Bring that fear to Him as well and ask for His peace to guard your heart.
I am praying for you, that the Lord will give you rest as you come to Him with these many concerns, that He will provide for your daily needs and for the money owed to you, that He will keep you safe in your travels and help your scooter and other things to continue working, that He will give wisdom to doctors and help for your mum and healing and comfort for your dad, that He will show you what help to seek and how to honor your parents without being overwhelmed, and that He will guard you from fear and fill you with His peace as you trust Him. May you find that His yoke is easy and His burden is light as you live to please Him one day at a time.
Jesus spoke to people who felt exactly this kind of weariness when He said, come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. In the days of Jeremiah, many were going around talking about the heavy burden of the Lord, and the Lord corrected them and said He had not laid that heavy burden on them. That same confusion happens today. People often feel pressed down and say God has put a crushing weight on them, when in truth the heaviness comes from other places.
One heavy burden every person can carry is trying to live only to please himself, to manage everything by his own strength and to make everything turn out right. That will always leave a person agitated and exhausted because it can never be fully satisfied. Another kind of heaviness comes from burdens we take on ourselves that God never asked us to carry, or that others place on us, expectations and demands that are not from Him. What Jesus offers is different. His burden is light because it is simply to do the will of the Father and to live to please God. That life, lived in trust and obedience, is not meant to crush you but to give rest even while you are busy and responsible. If what you are carrying feels like it is about to break you, it is a sign to pause and ask whether you are trying to carry it alone, and to bring it to Him and exchange it for His lighter way.
Part of that lighter way is learning to walk with Him day by day, doing what is right before Him and trusting Him with what you cannot control, like the weather, whether a machine will work, or whether a trip will go smoothly. You can pray about each of these practical needs and then rest in His care, asking for wisdom for each step and trusting Him to provide.
Your care for your parents is precious to God. Scripture says to honor your father and mother and to obey parents in the Lord, for this is right. That honoring includes the kind of help you are trying to give your mum as she needs more assistance, and your concern for your dad. At the same time, honoring does not mean you must carry everything alone without help. It is right to seek wise counsel, to ask the doctor honest questions, and to look for practical support from others as her needs increase after surgery. Loving them well also means caring for your own strength so you can continue to serve them faithfully.
Regarding health, please do not measure faith by physical condition. Some of the most faithful followers of Jesus live with ongoing health problems, and that does not mean they lack faith or commitment. We do not always understand why God allows illness or why He heals one person and not another, for His ways are not our ways. The apostle John wrote to his friend Gaius that he wished above all things that he would prosper and be in good health even as his soul prospered, which shows God does care about our bodies, and there is a real connection between peace in the soul and health in the body, yet it is a wish and a prayer, not a guarantee that strong faith always brings perfect health. We can pray with hope for your dad and for your mum, including her eye and her upcoming surgery, and trust God with the outcome, knowing He loves them more than we do.
And for the fear about disease spreading worldwide, remember that God remains sovereign over the nations and over your life. Worry about what might happen far away can become another heavy burden you were not meant to carry alone. Bring that fear to Him as well and ask for His peace to guard your heart.
I am praying for you, that the Lord will give you rest as you come to Him with these many concerns, that He will provide for your daily needs and for the money owed to you, that He will keep you safe in your travels and help your scooter and other things to continue working, that He will give wisdom to doctors and help for your mum and healing and comfort for your dad, that He will show you what help to seek and how to honor your parents without being overwhelmed, and that He will guard you from fear and fill you with His peace as you trust Him. May you find that His yoke is easy and His burden is light as you live to please Him one day at a time.
