Jesus Is Still Greater Than The Weight You Choose To Carry.

Jesus did not come to save those who pretend to 'have it all together', but those who are broken beyond measure and surrendered (repenting) to His perfect work (John 3:16/21).

Have you ever carried a weight so heavy that it forced the reality of brokenness to seep forth from your eyes? If you really understand what I just said, your answer would be 'yes'.

In this walk with Jesus, not once have we ever been promised to be 'kept' from suffering or the crushing of the heart on this side of eternity (Psalm 43:5, 2nd Corinthians 11:22/33, 1st Peter 5:8/9, the prophets, apostles, Jesus, etc). If we are honest with ourselves, we know that this world is very much broken and undone (2nd Thessalonians 2:9/12), and all of us have faced things we did not ask for, both before and even after professing Jesus as our Lord and King. Jesus has the victory, yes, but, until He comes to rule and reign on earth as in heaven (Revelation 16:15), we will experience sorrows, misery, heartache and crushing, not because He is not sovereign, but because the god of this age is still roaming the earth, seeking someone to devour.

If you had told me back in 2008 when I was about to get married, that it would end in 2 and a half years, later on, that I would be separated from my only son for most of his life and only see him in pictures, that I would spend 4 months in jail, be homeless multiple times, be used by multiple people, find myself in misery that led to attempts of suicide, constantly ask God why I am here when I keep failing Him and many other things I did not even remotely ask for, then part of me would have said 'no', instead of 'yes' in following Jesus. But the reality is, I know that it was always worth it, even in the midst of traumatic suffering that lingers for years.

When you truly 'count the cost' for following Jesus (2nd Timothy 3:12, Luke 9:62), you begin to realize that suffering and loss is a PART of the process. If one tells you that "your life will get better" or "you will get everything that you want", they have utterly lied to you and used you as merchandise (2nd Peter 2:1/3). Loss has MEANING and PURPOSE in the Kingdom of God far more than we realize (Matthew 19:29).

Your love can grow cold in the midst of suffering or being used/persecuted by others. If you allow the love to grow ice cold, the heart will be hardened (James 4:6), and faith will eventually fall away (Matthew 24:9/14). In a world that is already doing this quite well (2nd Timothy 3:1/5), the temptation will be to simply 'give in' with them and to become too comfortable in a world going mad with pleasure and trying to find meaning in meaningless things and systems (Proverbs 1:10/14).

Suffering for the follower of Jesus has never once been meaningless (Romans 5:1/5, 1st Peter 1:3/9). The Lord does not take any form of pleasure in seeing you suffer. In fact, He very much intends to 'wipe away all tears' at the end for those who have remained faithful to Him and counted the cost (Revelation 21:4).

The tears that you shed and the weight that you carry is not to be done alone (Matthew 11:28/30). Loving people will be difficult when you get used or persecuted (Matthew 22:30/40, Matthew 18:21/35). Jesus did not save us and then say "figure it out on your own". He is the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our faith, and He is the only One who will see us through to the end, whether that be to the end of our lives, or upon His triumphant return (Matthew 28:18/20, Revelation 16:15).