Tuesday, March 15 – Galatians 6:2

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

Have you ever tried to carry an overly heavy item on your own? Sometimes, it seems easier to try to do something on our own than ask for help. When we do this, we often get hurt or have to work a lot harder than is needed. How amazing is it that God knows our need for help and community? Even though it is in our nature to try to carry things on our own, He knows we need each other. Jesus said this simply in Matthew 7:12, “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” When we see another follower of Jesus struggling, we don’t have to have the perfect formula or answer to their struggle. We can listen, carry the burden with them, and bring it before the Lord together. We can serve others as we want to be served and seek further ways to lighten their load.

When we are going through a rough patch or even a busy season, it is easy to get tunnel vision. We take on required tasks, accomplish the goals right in front of us, and move on to the next thing, beginning the cycle again. Let’s take a moment to pause today. Maybe you have been trying to carry so much on your own that you have not asked for help or rejected offers of help from others. Maybe you are so focused on your own life that you are too busy to listen or serve someone else. Wherever you find yourself, God is gracious—He knows your heart, He sees your need, and He has given you others as He ultimately bears our load through Jesus.

• What is something you are trying to accomplish in your own strength and have rejected the help of others?
• Who is someone you know who is struggling or you feel prompted to check on?
• Pray and bring God your burdens and those whom you feel burdened for. Thank Him and praise Him for the gift of community and the body of Christ.