Grace Under Burden

In this episode, the host explores the multifaceted concept of burdens from a biblical perspective, offering insights on how to manage these challenges with grace and resilience. The discussion revolves around different types of burdens individuals may encounter, such as personal struggles, prophetic responsibilities, and communal obligations, and provides practical advice for handling these burdens without being overwhelmed.

Key Insights:
1. Defining Burdens: The episode delineates burdens as heavy loads or responsibilities that cause emotional and spiritual distress. These are categorized into personal sins, prophetic messages, communal responsibilities, and spiritual warfare.
   
2. Personal Responsibility and Growth: Emphasizes the importance of personal growth and self-care while managing burdens. The host encourages listeners to focus on their spiritual journey and self-improvement, rather than trying to control or change others.
   
3. Handling Burdens with Grace: The discussion underscores that having a burden does not entitle one to control or accountability over others. It's essential to handle burdens with humility and a focus on self-reflection and personal responsibility.

4. Community Support and Spiritual Practices: Highlights the significance of community support and spiritual practices like prayer and fasting in managing burdens. The host advocates for engaging with church communities and using online resources to find support and guidance.

5. Practical Tools for Coping: Recommends utilizing various resources beyond biblical texts, such as books, seminars, and workshops, to gain additional insights and coping strategies for dealing with burdens effectively.

Recommendations for Further Listening:
- "Walking Through Fire: Stories of Resilience and Faith" - An exploration of how different individuals have overcome severe trials through faith and community support.
- "Voices of Prophecy" - A series that dives into the lives and messages of biblical prophets to understand the nature of prophetic burdens in contemporary times.
- "Modern Day Good Samaritan" - Focuses on stories of people extending help and bearing burdens in their communities, inspiring listeners to take actionable steps in supporting others.

Conclusion:
"Grace Under Burdens" provides an enriching perspective on handling life's challenges with faith and grace. The host's insights encourage listeners to approach burdens with humility, focus on personal growth, and leverage community and spiritual resources to navigate difficulties effectively. This episode is a valuable resource for anyone looking to understand the spiritual and practical aspects of managing life's burdens.

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For more insightful discussions and practical advice, tune into Beyond the Mic With Mike on your favorite streaming service. Thank you for listening, and remember to share this episode with others who might find it helpful. Have a blessed day!

Transcript

 Today's episode is titled grace under burdens.  We're going to talk about how to handle a burden.  And what not to do.  So let's talk about burden.  A burden in the Bible can refer to several different things.  It often manifests as a sense of heavy load or responsibility that an individual feels.  And there's a few different ways that the term is used in a spiritual and biblical context. 

The first one, and these are in no particular order, we're going to say is a personal struggle or a sin.  These are the challenges or the weight of a sin that one carries. The These burdens can cause emotional and spiritual distress.  It leads to you seeking relief and redemption through prayer, repentance, and reliance on God's strength.

Think of David and Bathsheba. He had Uriah killed and the guilt was a big burden on him.  The weight of the sin was a big burden. And the only answer to it was his  repentance.  Another burden is a prophetic burden.  The prophet sometimes spoke of carrying a burden from the Lord. And it usually referred to a message or a prophecy that they had to deliver to the people.

This was big news, because it was often a serious  Or a very heavy responsibility as it usually involves conveying God's Word, which is sometimes a warning of judgment or a need for repentance.  An example there would be Zechariah 9 and 1. It starts off singing, saying, the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel. 

Just an example,  preachers can relate to that when they feel something heavy on their heart. That  God says, I need you to speak this, that'd be a prophetic burden. 

The more common use, I would say more common use  or responsibilities towards others.  Burdens can also relate to responsibilities one has toward another individual, such as caring for family, helping the needy, or maybe supporting another church member spiritually or materially.  The New Testament encouraged believers to bear one another's burdens, says Galatians 6, 2. 

And that emphasizes empathy, it emphasizes support, and sharing the load within a church community.  Folks might feel a burden to pray for a specific individual, a situation, or a group.  This sense of burden can be seen as being led by the Holy Ghost to intercede on behalf of others,  often carrying a deep sense of urgency or concern. 

Paul frequently expressed a deep burden for the churches he ministered to.  For example, in 2 Corinthians 11, 28,  besides the external hardships he mentions,  and apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. That's the English Standard Version.  This reflects a burden not only for their spiritual well being, but for their growth in unity in Christ. 

Individuals might feel a burden for a specific people, group, or religion. Specific group or geographic area to start a work, or maybe bring some sort of aid, you know, maybe they, they need food or water.  That's a burden that's often described as a calling or a burden placed on their hearts by God and it motivates them and guides their missions work. 

Another type of burden would be spiritual warfare. Some Christians might refer to burdens in the context of spiritual warfare, meaning where they feel weighed down by spiritual attacks or oppressive forces.  This type of burden requires prayer, fasting,  and the communal support of a church to overcome. 

Now I'm sure this short list is not all inclusive. I'm not that smart. Okay. I'm just trying to lay a foundation, giving you an idea of what we're talking about today. And I don't want to focus on the first one. When I'm talking about personal struggles and sins, you need to repent. There, that one's solved.

Go, go repent. But what about the rest?  Those are things that we live with and deal with. And that's more in the nature of.  The podcast,  those examples that I gave you show that God put them there or,  you know, God does put burdens on people.  So what do you do with that burden?  You need to know how, you know, whether he put a burden on you for prayer, for prophetic ministry, for pastoral care, for missions or whatever, you have to know how to handle it because you know what happens if you don't know how to handle a burden,  it can destroy you. 

Why would God give you something so dangerous? Because he's trusting you with it.  He's expecting you to get it right because it requires you to lean on him.  It requires you to grow into mature. He's trusting you to be used.  So let's get started on this, how to handle it.  And I'm calling this episode grace under burdens  first,  a burden, no matter how heavy or severe  pay attention. 

The burden, no matter how heavy or severe entitles you  to nothing.  It entitles you to neither control nor accountability.  Whether it's a spiritual calling or a specific task, it does not give you the right to control anyone,  nor does it necessarily make you accountable for their actions.  Sometimes we get this  sense of ownership because I'm burdened by you.

I own you. You have to do what I say. I'm the one praying for you. You should listen to me. I'm the one fasting for you. You should respect that. And we, we get offended when they don't do what we say, because we're the one with the burden, as if. We're an authority,  even if we are an authority that it's not because of the burden that gives us authority, the burden entitles you to nothing,  nor are you responsible for their actions because you have the burden,  the burden entitles you to nothing. 

It's crucial to recognize that while the burdens can influence our decisions and our directions, it does not grant ownership over any circumstance or any person.  You need to understand that  in the type of relationship does not change the principle. I don't care if it's mother and daughter, son and father, it doesn't matter. 

You don't own that person.  Secondly,  Stay focused  too often.  We are more burdened with improving everything, but ourselves.  It's easy to become consumed with external duties or consumed with fixing others, and we overlook personal growth and we overlook our own spiritual development,  Galatians six, four, and five in English standard versions.

It says, but let each other test his own work. And then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor, for each will have to bear his own load.  These verses stress personal responsibility and the importance of focusing on our own spiritual journey. I'm not saying to ignore your burden, but you have to say focus on yourself.

As well as your burden,  because if you don't, then we will neglect ourselves and we have this how do I put this?  It's almost as if we think that because we have the burden that we're superior, that that puts us  above someone,  and that's not the case.  Your burden does not make you superior to others, and it does not put you in a place to neglect your own improvement.

You must stay focused on your own salvation and your own spiritual growth. Even though you have a burden for somebody, that does not mean you get to judge them. It does not mean you get to look down on them. And it does not mean you get to ignore your own obligations to yourself.  Thirdly,  probably maybe most importantly,  learn how to deal with situations. 

We have this habit of trying to endure.  I've gotten this inspiration from the book that I just finished. People can't drive you crazy if you don't give them the keys.  No, I want to give credit where credit's due. That's where I got this inspiration.  You cannot survive ministry or life  by simply not allowing someone or something to bother you.

You  can't just suck it up and say, you're not going to bother me.  Attempting to navigate life or ministry by share willpower without letting anything bother you is  unsustainable  because it will only last as long as you have. Willpower.  It will lead to burnout. It will lead to emotional exhaustion.  You will wear out.

And once that willpower leaves, what do you have left?  A more viable approach involves learning how to actually handle those situations and learning how to respond to those situations. Instead of just trying to hold your breath and wait it out.  Now, how do you do that? You work on yourself and you change yourself.

You can't change people.  You may not even be able to change those situations.  And I need you to understand to be aware that just because you made the right decisions, it does not guarantee the right outcome.  You are not responsible for the results.  In any situation,  you don't do what's right and trade for the results. 

I need you to understand that. You do what's right because it's right.  And if you were to put that in your heart and receive it, then you'll never have to be at an altar saying, God, why did this happen to me? I'm a good person. 

Now what is right for your situation? I don't know. You need to talk to your pastor. You need to pray about it. Talk to God. Grow your own relationship. And work that out.  Those are those, those are the warnings I wanted to give about burden. So now what? So now you've received it and realized maybe you're in too deep or maybe you are guilty. 

First recognize the role of grace.  God gives us time to fix things. He gives us time to.  To learn his patience and to learn his mercy and to learn his love.  So praise God for his grace.  Maybe you need some practical tools and resources. Go read a book on how to handle situations. Go, go learn something.  I'm a big believer in this may be my ignorance, my youth talking, but if the only book you have in your library is the Bible. 

I believe you're lacking.  You be, well, it's possible. If you pray every day for 20 hours, only sleep the remaining four, God can use you. But if you're bivocational and have a family and you've got other responsibilities, you're probably not praying enough to be used enough with just a Bible.  You need to be feeding your mind other things.

So grab a book,  grab a workbook, whatever,  and get, get something else. Get some other resources, read your Bible, study it, but you got to be able to study that Bible. You can't just read it at face value. You got to know the context of it. You got to know the, the culture, what that meant,  you know, the words, was it translated correctly?

You got to know that stuff.  Can a community action, get in church, go to conferences,  listen, go to seminars. Get group help, get community action.  You are not alone. If you are, you're choosing to be.  In 2024, the power of the internet has brought us closer together. If you are still alone, even in Alaska, you are choosing to be alone.

You may not have a physical neighbor, but because of the internet, you can reach out and be a part of a group.  Of course, there are spiritual disciplines that help prayer,  fasting, reading your word, meditating. Of course, those are always vital.  And lastly, stay encouraged, don't give up, don't become overwhelmed,  pray,  repent,  ask for forgiveness.

If you need to forgive others, forgive yourself.  You're not alone. You're not the only one with those feelings. You're not the first one to get betrayed. You're not the first one to get frustrated  and you're not going to be the last.  But if we do this together,  man, what can we accomplish? That's my  podcast for today. 

Grace under burdens.  It's a simple one. It was short today.  I hope it blessed you. I just wanted you to put burden in its place before burden places you somewhere you don't want to be.  Love you. Thank you for listening. Have a blessed day.