There was a man that used a camel to transport his straw. He would load as much straw as he could on the camel to get the most out of the animal. One day, when he loaded the last piece of straw onto the camel’s back, the camel collapsed. His back had broken, and the man was unable to move any more straw.
This may just be a story, but it feels very real to many of us today. It seems we are stuck in a season of difficult times with one thing after another pilling up on our backs. Last year we dealt with COVID, and we are still dealing with it this year. Then last week people all over had to live through some of the most extreme weather conditions we have ever seen. Many of us, with everything else that goes on in life, may have believed we were at the point of our last straw, that we just cannot take another step.
We must remember, we are not camels and we do not have a master or an owner. Instead, we have a God who loves us and will never allow the burdens we go through to break the backs of our wills to carry on with Him. I know some of you might say, “But you don’t know what I’m going through”. That is true; I do not know. But I know this: Jesus taught us that with Him we can always take another step.
In Matthew 26:39, we read the example of Jesus near the end of His strength. In this passage, Jesus says to God, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless not as I will but as You will”. The cup He speaks of is the last straw that would challenge Him the most. It is the night of His betrayal, the night before His crucifixion. But Jesus knew that though what He faced was difficult, there was more and better to come. He needed only to be willing to take just one more step with God. Jesus did not want to get out of something; He wanted to go through something.
We often time think problems come upon that make our lives hard, and I do not deny that to be true. But could it be also that sometimes we come to our problems because we are unwilling to see that God is trying to remove some of the heaviness of our wills and replace it with the straw of His will? Life and difficulties teach us to want to get out of the things that challenge us the most. But the Lord wants us to know that life is not what is happening to us now. Life is what lies ahead, beyond these temporary roadblocks. We must understand that no matter our situation, it is in our darkest hour that makes the coming light shine brightest. From our coldest nights come our warmest days. From our most difficult losses come our most precious gains. Through our most difficult sickness we find healing for our souls. From the greatest disappointments in our relationships come our greatest joys with those same relationships. From our greatest falls come our highest achievements. And from our greatest challenges we can find the desire to have the lives God desires for us.
The devil wants you to stake your claim to life based on how you keep from taking on that last straw. Do not believe or live this way. Jesus wants us to know that an abundant life is one where we depend not just on the work He did to save us, but more so on the work He does to carry us through the burdens we carry daily. He is always willing to take just one more step for us; let’s be willing to take one more step on His shoulders. You are never at your last straw when you are on His shoulders. Live a Delivered Life. Love you.
Live Delivered 