Good morning. I have, from time to time, shared some memories of my days gone by when I would take groups of young people into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. These trips were always worth while, as long as the goal is to open the hearts and minds of young people. The aim was to them new life lessons and to learn that what had been assumed to be the boundaries of endurance and discomfort were false. They were always capable of much more than they had previously thought to be true.
One of the first lessons was that every two people shared a Duluth Pack, which is a large backpack that can hold an unusual amount of personal items and/or camping necessities. Within that Duluth Pack they could bring anything they desired, but always remember this: whatever you put in that pack you have to carry over the portage trails. Leaving anything behind is never an option. The way this played out was often quite interesting. At times I had young guys who decided that their main interest in the BWCAW was fishing. They would stuff enough fishing tackle into their pack to make a pro-bass fisherman envious. But you have to carry it…all of it…up steep portages that sometimes were ¾ of a mile long, or through low marshy spots, and once in a while through areas where the trails were flooded . One of my favorite examples of this rule gone bad was when a pair of 8th grade young ladies were stuffing their gear into their pack as we were preparing to get started, and I saw that it included a hair blower and a curling iron. I asked them if they were sure that was a good idea, and they responded by telling me that they were being careful not to over do it, they were going to share them. The look on their faces on that first morning, one holding the hair blower and the other the curling iron, at a campsite several miles from the nearest electric outlet, was priceless.
Campers who had been on previous trips were more careful, and rarely did they try and pack away anything that wouldn’t be vitally important to them on the trip. Even so, a five day trip paddling through wilderness waters and carrying Duluth Packs over portages was exhausting. Another of the vital life lessons learned from such trips is that the limits to your endurance are far greater than you may have imagined. When you absolutely have to, you will surprise yourself regarding what you are capable of managing.
But we all have our limits.
In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus gives us an invitation for those times when our limits have been reached, and possibly even surpassed: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Who among us today feels burdened? Who feels that life’s load is too heavy for your shoulders to bear? Who feels as though they have reached their limits, and in fact, exceeded them?
Jesus tells us to join Him, let Him help with that load. One of the most annoying things you will find on a wilderness trip like I mentioned above is when your Duluth Pack isn’t properly set up for you. The straps are adjustable for a reason, because if they are too long or too short, you are in for a long day. Jesus tells us that when we join Him, He ensures that what we carry is perfectly fit for us. He also tells us that when we share our burden with Him, His added strength makes that burden light and manageable.
What are we stuffing in those figurative Duluth Packs we are carrying through life? Is there the burden of guilt and shame? We read in Psalm 38:4 “My guilt has overwhelmed me; like a load it weighs me down.” Jesus paid the price for that burden and when we give it to Him it is gone forever.
2 Corinthians 5:4 tells us the truth: For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
As we work our way through our days in this life, we carry a burden or two. That can’t be helped. But Jesus says that if we will trust Him, if we will allow Him to help, those burdens are lessened and bearable. Ultimately, these burdens are released all together and by the salvation that is ours in Him, we lay our burden down to be clothed in heavenly raiment.
Let Him help!
Vern