This the day the Lord has made, We will rejoice and be glad in it.
So glad we are together. As I mentioned in my last message with today’s new words such as Covid 19 and Corona Virus being household words with the attending emotions of fear, anxiety, hopelessness. anger and confusion, we all need to find hope in Jesus. I hope the illustration I wrote entitled BURNT OFFERINGS from the series Victory Apps, is helping you on your life path. I mentioned I would tell you about another application of releasing our burdens to the Lord. It’s called BOXES, BOWS, BROWN GROCERY BAGS, and WHEELBARROWS.
This application can be for those things that happen on a day-to-day experience that bother us and deplete our emotional energy.
After doing my burnt offerings for a while, another illustration came to me that I was able to apply and share with others about troubling situations that occur in our lives. This one involved boxes, bows, and grew to include brown grocery bags and wheelbarrows. I have shared this one with my children, grandchildren, young mothers, men, and women, basically anyone carrying burdens within them. It’s interesting that life’s burdens do not have an age limit, or nationality, affecting men and women, the young, middle age, and the aging.
The first step I had to do was ask Lord Jesus to reveal my feelings and let me understand why I felt so troubled. Sometimes we don’t know why we feel sad, angry, and anxious or we are too busy to slow ourselves down enough to find out. We are also very adept at burying our emotions, but, He does. He knows all about us, from our conception to throughout our lives.
When I eventually uncovered the source of my troubles, I saw myself mentally place my cares in an imaginary box. l Peter 5:7 tells us Casting the whole of your care (all your anxieties, all of your worries, all your concerns, once and for all) on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. My concerns, at that time, would be varied from how to raise the children with their many concerns. Tormenting thoughts, am I a good parent? Am I a good wife? I sure blew it and didn’t act very understanding today… again went in the box. Anxious feelings of bills needing to be being paid, employment situations, health problems, and prayers for our marriage, along with my negative feelings about myself all were mentally placed in the box. To describe ‘mentally placed in the box’, I would literally see myself hold the nagging, energy-depleting feelings and then see myself lower them into the box. Then, I closed it.
Through the years my needs and concerns grew along with the children’s transition from childhood to adults and then the new generation of grandchildren. With today’s Corona Virus with its many restrictions and trials, our emotions are taxed daily.
The next step is important and needs to be thought with care to details.
After visualizing myself placing the concerns in the box and closing it, I carefully wrapped the box with my
favorite colored wrapping paper. I felt I was presenting an offering to the Lord that had my feelings, that basically had ‘me’ in the box so, I wanted to present something beautiful to Him. Then the next important part of the offering was to place my favorite bow on the box. It’s important to see the box completed. You’ll understand why later.
After I had my box wrapped and a bow on it, the next step is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. This is where you give your concerns to the Lord. See yourself walking and carrying your box of ‘burden offerings’ to the cross of Jesus. Once you are at the base of the cross, you pray about whatever is on your heart and what’s in your box. Take your time. This is your special time with Him. No one else can give Him what you can because there is only one you. He loves you and waits patiently for you to share your concerns, disappointments, hurts, fears, and tears. After praying and releasing, you then put your wrapped box down at the cross.
I can give you an illustration of a prayer but, you will have your own in-depth details about your life. Share your heart feelings with Him. He already knows all that has happened and your pain. He is your loving Father that heals the brokenhearted. “Our Father, who art in heaven… Luke 11:2-4. He heals the broken in heart…Psalms 147:3, Isaiah 61:1.
You might say, ”Father, I give these cares, hurts, fears, and pains to You. You know what I felt when ___________ happened. You know what I still feel and can’t seem to get over it. I can’t carry them anymore. It affects my whole life. Please accept them and work them out for me as You have said in 1 Peter 5:7. I forgive ________, please forgive me for my holding on to any offense.. Thank You for loving me as You do. I want to know and love You more. In Jesus’ name Amen.”
After placing your treasured box on the ground, see yourself turn around and walk away. You have given your cares to Him. When plaguing thoughts try to return, you can say, “Be gone, they are at the cross, Jesus will take care of them. My box is there. It has ______ color paper on it and a _______ bow.”
When you take your brightly colored box, you’ll probably see my assortment of shiny boxes and bows. I can’t tell you exactly what I put in the boxes but, each represents different situations and emotions that I needed to take to the Lord and get relief from the negative thoughts. He, of course, was there to receive them. This is a way to ‘nip things in the bud’, to release the plaguing concerns before they get entrenched in our souls.
We all have our ‘ day-to-day’ situations. One young man, after hearing this message, saw himself put his troubling issues into a brown paper grocery bag. He then saw himself walk to the Cross with his ‘burdens’ grocery bag and prayed, releasing them. An older man exclaimed, “I have so many, I need a wheelbarrow to carry all my concerns!” He saw himself push his to the Cross, prayed over his load of anxiety involving his family, the economy, health, and relationships giving them to the only One who could relieve his burdens. A creative woman saw herself place her petitions in a box wrapped in impressive purple paper, a large purple bow with beautiful gems on each corner of the box.
Also, children can take their child burdens to the Lord in the same manner we do. They have their little, but huge to them, concerns as they grow and develop.
You and your children or grandchildren can also take a sheet of paper and draw an illustration of your and their special boxes and put their drawings on the refrigerator attaching it with a magnet. Then, they will be able to see their box every day, touch it, pray, and thank the Lord for answering their prayers. You become a family that prays and believes for answers together. The children love to see their lives are important enough to put on the refrigerator and pray over every day.
These are additional illustrations to release life’s day-to-day experiences. We will have a beautiful garden of gaily
wrapped boxed prayers, as well as brown grocery bags, with heart-felt petitions enclosed… even well-used wheelbarrows, loaded with concerns of life. There’s plenty of room for all of us. Each box, bag, or wheel barrel just makes God’s garden look more beautiful. He treasures the time we spend with Him and our offerings.
By the way, this message is for me as well as for you. I will be giving our Lord a new wrapped box with a new concern tonight. I’m so thankful He receives and welcomes us and our petitions with open arms.
Featured Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
