Not too long ago I was waiting at a light when a spectacular semi-truck turned in front of me. It had more tires than I’d ever seen on one vehicle, all doubles, 4 to an axle except on the cab. As it drove past, I counted: 36 wheels.
All I could think of was how difficult it must be to keep that many tires in good shape simultaneously. Are they wearing properly and balanced correctly? Are their lug nuts snug? Rotating those tires must be a nightmare similar to playing Mancala with game pieces too heavy to move.
Why so many wheels? The answer: tons of weight inside.
It made me think of all the excess weight we carry, not in pounds but in burdens. Trouble comes when we try to carry too much on only 2 wheels.
In the book of Exodus we read how Moses tried to lead a million obstreperous people through miserable circumstances. He was doing the best he could, but it wasn’t good enough. He didn’t have enough wheels to hold up his heavy load, and it was ruining him.
God saw the problem and brought Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, to the massive Israelite camp at exactly the right time. In learning how burdened Moses was he said, “The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.” (Exodus 18:18)
The heavy weight was redistributed to helper-judges, which then gave Moses the 36 wheels he needed to continue moving the massive group forward.
Years later he again found himself weighed down by the impossible burden of his role. The people were crushing him with their complaints, so once again he went to God. “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.” (Numbers 11:14) It was time for a new set of tires. God provided them again in the form of many able helpers, and Moses’ load was lifted.
What about our 21st century loads? More often than not we drag under our heavy burdens while trying to give the impression we’re living feather-light. When others see us bent beneath our loads and ask if they can help, we say, ”No thanks. I’m just fine.” After all, we don’t want to add to their loads. But as we learn in Scripture, if we accept the help of others, a blessing comes to them as well as to us.
Moses modeled what to do when we’re overloaded. Step 1: ask God to lighten it up. Step 2: listen for how. We’re to avoid the extremes of either asking no one, or asking many of the wrong ones, because our best burden-lifter will always be God.
“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” (Psalm 68:19)
Praising and Praying with Mary
Thanks and praise for peaceful sleeping at night, a direct answer to your prayers. Please pray for my increasing fatigue, that God will give rest and rejuvenation to match the need.
