Often, but especially over the past few days, I have felt
the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It tends to be not because my
life is bad – indeed, I feel I have been blessed beyond measure – but the
turmoil and suffering of the world around me weighs heavily upon me. Sometimes it is guilt that I am
flitting about my comfortable life while others do not have that luxury (not
that I don’t have problems, but they often seem so small in the face of issues
like famine, unemployment, terminal illnesses, etc.), sometimes it is plain and
simple empathy, or sometimes it is a feeling of helplessness that nothing I can
do will make a dent in the strife… it’s just a drop of freshwater in the ocean. And certainly there is the frightening
realization that it is only a matter of time before the badness I see around me
hits closer to home.
As my heart ached, I considered
that I cannot possibly be the only one despairing over these things, and I
wondered how I might share some comfort with anyone else who feels the way I
do. Certainly, we childfree can take some
comfort in the fact that we are not forcing another person into such an
existence (“better…is he who has not
yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.” Ecc.
4:3). But beyond that, we are offered a little hope for ourselves – not that
things will get better here, but that there is something more powerful than this
world: “In the world you will have
tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Take heart.
Maybe one could also see this form of feelings or emphaty like getting more a heart share with God's heart in us?
ReplyDeleteThe more we have God's heart in mind, as well as the more we start seeing it through God's eyes ourselves, the more we will also see from both good and bad in the world.
But also; Learning with seeing everything and everyone through God's eyes, will also teach us how dependant we are on Him leading and helping us, as well as we will learn how to become more humble in Him. Feeling helpless or weak, will teach us to not leaning on to our own understanding but God's.
Of course; He gave us a brain so that we can also think for ourselves, and make good choices. But we should never become too independent so that we have to do everything ourselves, and not need anything of God's help. I once chatted with a girl into a Christian chatroom online which said she was very independent. She was even too independent for having God to provide or help her in life. She said that she could manage taking care of herself, everything she had managed getting was done by herself, without God's help. She didn't needed nor wanted to be provided by Him, nor blessed, nor pray for His help. In some way she sounded very happy and proud of herself and her independence. Although this is good about being happy with all what you have managed to achieve in life, I did felt a bit worried for her not wanting to rely on God.
We should be careful so that we don't become too "self wise", nor leaning more to our own understanding and leaving God out of our lives.