Heavy Lifting

Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.

Psalm 105:4 (NLT)

I’m not a body builder type, but I do go to the gym regularly. I’m told it’s important to my health to exercise. So, three days per week, for an hour each time, I go abuse myself for the sake of health. Yup. I’m the 40-something year old dude on the elliptical machine (cuz the treadmill gives him shin splints) getting his cardio on before switching to the weight machines (because the free weights are scary).

If I’m honest, there are some people at my gym who have some big, bulging muscles. And, they are able to lift way more weight than I ever will be able to. This makes me a bit self-conscious. So, when I am done using the weight machine, I move the pin (You know, the metal pin that you insert into the weight machine which tells it how much weight you want to lift?) to a much heavier weight than I actually lifted. That way, the next person on the machine will think, “Wow! That middle-aged guy is in much better shape than I thought he was!” Ok, they probably don’t think that. But I secretly hope they do!

The reality of life is that we’re all pretty weak. Not necessarily in the gym-sense. But, we are weak when it comes to doing the heavy lifting of life. Those stresses and pains caused by life pile on. While we might be able to lift them initially, the weight and strain keep getting heavier as life goes on. Eventually, we can’t lift it any longer. Unfortunately, we can’t just step out of life’s weight machine. Instead, we’re stuck in it, and the weight becomes unbearable.

This is what it’s like when we try to lift the weight of sin in our lives on our own. We can’t lift that weight – not even an inch. Why? Sin can’t be removed by trying harder. Sin can only be removed by the One who overcame all sin.

As the psalmist put it in our verse today, “Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.” We need to be looking to God’s strength when it comes to lifting the weight of sin from our shoulders. We need to stop pretending we are stronger than we are, and instead lean into God’s massive muscles.

Today, if you’re feeling like life is crushing down upon you, realize that you’re not in this alone. Call on God. Call on His strength. Submit to Him, and let Him lift the weight from you.