Kneeling

“The camel, at the close of day
Kneels down upon the sandy plain
To have his burden lifted off
And rest to gain.

“My soul, thou too shouldst to thy knees
When the daylight draweth to a close,
And let thy Master lift thy load
And grant repose.

“Else how canst thou tomorrow meet,
With all tomorrow’s work to do,
If thou thy burden all the night
Dost carry through?

“The camel kneels at break of day
To have his guide replace his load,
Then rises up again to take
The desert road.

“So thou shouldst kneel at morning’s dawn
That God may give thee daily care,
Assured that He no load too great
Will make thee bear.”
– Anna Temple (Leaves of Gold, pg. 154)

There is a simple little object lesson anyone can do, and I think it makes its point very well. Take something like a glass of water, nothing more than eight to twelve ounces, and hold it straight out from you. Not close to your body with elbow bent, but fully extended. When you initially extend your arm, ask yourself if the object is heavy. You will say, of course not. Now wait for about 30 seconds and ask again. Is it heavy? No, but you will admit it is not quite as light as it was. Now wait some more, maybe another minute, or two if necessary. As you can guess, it will not be too long before your arm begins to tire. What seemed to be an easily manageable weight at first becomes burdensome over time.

Over time, the cares of life can be terribly heavy to bear. We might be quite willing to carry them, but periods of repose are necessary in order to endure the journey. Scripture says to “cast your cares upon God, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Even in his powerful prophetic ministry, Elijah needed sleep and a divinely-prepared meal in order to continue his journey (1 Kings 19). The necessary rest is more than physical. Our body may sleep, but the mind can continue laboring under the weight of unfinished tasks and unresolved issues. Just like a glass of water held at arm’s length, these will become too heavy to bear unless we learn how and when to put them down.

I am not a pro at this, and I don’t pretend to be. There is a prayer I learned in my early years of ministry, taught to me by a seasoned pastor and friend. It is intended to be a prayer before bedtime. Admittedly, I should use it more often. It goes something like this:

“Jesus, I have carried the load ministry and life today. I haven’t carried it perfectly, but I have tried nevertheless. There are many things left undone, and I am willing to pick up the load once again in the morning. For now, I trust you to hold these things, so that my sleep may bring your perfect rest.”

Maybe it would work for you, too.

See you along the Winding Path.