Manna in the Morning

Have you ever heard the expression, “She’s got a bee in her bonnet?” Or, you might have heard a similar one, “He’s got a burr under his saddle.” Both indicate that the person being referred to is particularly upset about something. Author Max Lucado tells about his boyhood days of playing football out in the West Texas fields. The fields where Max and his friends played were full of grass burrs that stuck in their skin. Sometimes, after a big tackle, a player would have a leg or arm full of grass burrs. They stung horribly. The game came to a stop while the player pulled out each of the burrs. Some players wanted to keep on playing in spite of the burrs, but it was usually too painful. Lucado trusted no one but his father to pull out his burrs. So, he would leave the game, go home, and get his father to pull out every last burr, then he would return to the game. Friends, there are some burrs that only our Father in heaven can remove. Fortunately, God will remove them if we trust ourselves to Him. The Bible urges us to “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (I Peter 5:7)

Be honest now... how do your blessings stack up in comparison to your burdens? There was a preacher who was speaking at a small church in the Midwest who went to the home of a widow for lunch. He was sitting in the living room, while she prepared lunch in the kitchen. He noticed two jars on the fireplace mantel. One jar was filled with beads; the other had only a few beads. The preacher asked the widow what the beads in the jars were supposed to mean. She told him that one jar was for all of her burdens; the other jar was for all her blessings. The preacher looked again at the jars and asked, “So which one is for burdens and which one is for blessings?” The dear lady looked at the jars and answered, “First I put beads in a jar for each of my burdens. Then when these burdens turn into blessings, I move them into the other jar. See how full the blessing jar has become; the jar is almost full." What about you? Don’t you agree that your blessings far outnumber your burdens. Remember what Jesus said, “Come unto me all you that are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28)