January 20 - Burdens To Blessings.

There are at least two types of burdens in the Bible:
 
Psalm 55:22
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
 
Burdens: heaviness, weight, trouble
 
These are the burdens that are trials.
 
The weight of them hurt us and we desire for them to be lifted off of us, but they are ultimately for our good and His glory.
 
We are told to bear these types of burdens FOR someone else.
 
Galatians 6:2
“Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.“
 
But there’s another type of burden…
 
This type of burden is also heavy and weighs upon our hearts.
It can also cause pain, but it's a different type of pain. 
 
Instead of carrying the burden FOR someone else, we are to carry this type of burden TO someone else.
 
This is when we are so burdened for someone else to receive something that we are willing to bring it to them. 
 
The Apostle Paul had this burden for the people of Israel.
 
Romans 9:2
“That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.”
 
Romans 10:1
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is…”
 
What is our heart’s desire and prayer to God this morning?
 
Paul’s was very specific.
 
Romans 10:1
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved.”
 
This is the type of burden that we should desire to have!
 
Can we say, like Paul, that our hearts’ desire and prayer to God this morning is to see people saved?
 
If that is true, what are we doing about it?
 
The greatest burden (trial) someone can have is being without Christ…
…while the greatest blessing we can receive is bringing someone to Christ.
 
If we will allow ourselves to have a burden for lost souls, we will see an abundance of blessings from the Lord.
 
Proverbs 11:30
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”
 
 
Bible Reading:
Genesis 39-40    |     John 20