When I attended the university, I was afforded the opportunity to study the collective canon of the writings of William Shakespeare.  This particular textbook was a ‘door-stopper,’ a giant textbook, to say the least, and one that I was required to carry back-and-forth to class.  Within the covers lay the published words (all of them) ever written by Shakespeare.  Truly, this book weighed several pounds, and I had to carry it for many steps and several days.  Maybe this was the beginning of what caused my lower back to ache.

As I was undergoing a teaching evaluation yesterday, my division chair and I spoke of this particular class and its textbook from years gone by.  We also talked, remembering our shared university professor and the lessons learned.

One great lesson learned during that particular semester—

I could not physically carry my newly purchased Shakespeare textbook and all the other textbooks that were required of me.  No, that task was impossible, for that textbook alone was a heavy burden to carry (going from my vehicle, walking across the campus to the Wallace Building, and then hauling it up the steps to the classroom where we gathered around the large conference table).

God’s Word holds far more value than any earthly author.

• There are many lessons we can learn within the Holy Scripture.
• The Word of God can direct our steps so that our priorities are shifted.
• The Bible can encourage, teach, sustain, and even convict us.

However, one fact remains:  We must daily pick up the Bible, allowing the Word of God to speak to us, meditating upon God’s Holy Scripture.

• One time a week, on Sunday, the Bible will not affect us.
• Twice or three times, we will really not be changed.

But statistics say:  If we reach for and read our Bible up to four times per week, we will be changed.  Furthermore, reaching for the Word of God daily, seven days of every week, will change our lives forever.

Therefore, just as with the heaviness of that Shakespeare textbook, some things are just too heavy to be carried around day-in-and-day-out all alone.

• Emotional burdens.
• Physical baggage.
• Past hurts.
• Present injuries.
• Bitterness.
• Unforgiveness.

Could it be that we need to give our heavy burden to Jesus Christ?

The Bible tells us that we should.

God does not want us to walk burdened; He wants us to lay our burdens at the foot of the cross.  Each week, our pastor says:  “Don’t walk out of here (meaning the sanctuary) carrying the same burdens you brought in with you today.”  This is biblical teaching for God wants us to walk in freedom.  Therefore, this means we need to reconcile, to forgive, to let go, and to lay down—that burden which we are carrying.

Within God’s Word, we read a biblical narrative, one detailing how a brother tricked his twin brother, stealing something precious that did not rightly belong to him.  Jacob stole his father’s blessing from his brother Esau, and this stolen birthright caused immense animosity between the two, so much so that Esau held a grudge and vowed revenge.

To be sustained by the LORD means we must trust that He has the ability to carry what we cannot carry.

A few days ago, while having a conversation through a text message, I typed these words:  The Lord helps us learn to rely on His strength, to allow Him to carry that which we were never meant to carry.

The Bible reveals the reconciliation found between Jacob and his brother Esau, one that came after a night of Jacob wrestling.