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What Burdens Are We Carrying?
21 Plays1 year ago
We continue in Numbers 11. The Israelites are complaining, and focusing on things they are lacking, and God gets angry, Moses gets upset. How often are we like this- and we are focuses on things we are lacking in life? God helps Moses and releases the burden he is carrying. We are reminded that when we feel weighed down, stressed and like things are out of our control, we need to gives it to God. He cares for us, and so often we are focuses on things that we need to be praying about. When we go to God and surrender we are reminded of the freedom we have in Christ. No matter what is weighing us down, we can turn to Him.
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Transcript
Introduction & Episode Overview
00:00:01
fillingyouupwithhope
Hi, it's Abby from Filling You Up with Hope. I'm just so thankful that you're here. It's another Monday, another episode where we go through God's word and we find hope to deal with all of the stresses that we face in life. So we are continuing in numbers and today we're mainly um going to be in Numbers 11. We're going to go to a little bit of Matthew and a little bit of the book of Psalms, but we're mainly in Numbers and it's something that happened back then,
The Burden of Life's Challenges
00:00:46
fillingyouupwithhope
right? It's continuing with um the Israelites in the desert and it applies to them back then. What we're going to talk about
00:00:59
fillingyouupwithhope
And it applies to us today. And I just think this is going to be really helpful to go through. And it's about when we feel like we just have so many burdens and so much heaviness, so much baggage that we're carrying. And we feel like we need to be in control of it.
00:01:29
fillingyouupwithhope
and And we feel like we can't let go and give it to God.
Complaints and Their Consequences
00:01:36
fillingyouupwithhope
And so, but where we start with is in the beginning of chapter 11, Israelites are marching in the desert and they're they're hungry and they're getting a craving, but ja me which we all can relate relate to, right? Most of us, oh I'm craving, I'm craving pizza, I'm craving like whatever that it is, right? And we can all relate to that. And they are just, they're eating manna that God provides for them. And it's like this, it explains, um it's like this corander seed and they would like blend it up and they would make like
00:02:28
fillingyouupwithhope
olive oil cakes with it, which doesn't sound that bad to me. But that's what they they they were eating, like that was their food. And they were missing the things that they used to eat. Right. And how many of us can relate to that, like missing things of the past. Right. And maybe being focused on that.
00:02:57
fillingyouupwithhope
at instead of being focused on today. And I feel like it kind of is a little bit, so the the name, the the the title of the chapter in my Bible is Complained at the Taberah. And the Israelites are complaining again, which is like, there's like a cycle of behavior um of the Israelites. and There's complaining, which I know that I do that way too much. And I feel like we talked about a couple weeks ago, the blessing, this beautiful blessing that that God tells the priests to pray over the Israelites. And blessings are about um focusing on God and an increase
00:03:56
fillingyouupwithhope
of things and complaining is kind of the opposite to me because it's like focusing on what you're lacking. And I know that I do that way too much. And when we're complaining, our brains are focusing on what we don't have instead of what we do have. So that's like, you know, a tip if any of us are in a space where we're complaining you know, making a list of the things that we do have that we are thankful for and trying to focus our brains on that.
Turning Complaints into Prayers
00:04:36
fillingyouupwithhope
But so in in Numbers 11, it says in verse one, when the people complained intensely and the Lord's hearing, the Lord heard and became angry. So God hears them complaining, right?
00:04:55
fillingyouupwithhope
The Lord's fire burned them and consumed the edges of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, Moses did what we need to be doing when we're complaining. Like often, you know, in my job as a therapist, people, we talk about negative thoughts, right? We talk about different um complaints, worries, things like that. Really all of those things are things that we need to be praying about and giving to God. So, and Moses knew that, right? So Moses hears the complaint and he turns to God.
Forgetting God's Miracles
00:05:36
fillingyouupwithhope
And that that needs to be our first line of defense. Often, like we naturally do other things first. I'm very close to my sister, shout out Dory. And sometimes like that's my first line of defense.
00:05:53
fillingyouupwithhope
I want to talk to my sister, I want to talk to my husband, and and that's like my first line of defense. But I've been thinking about this week and lately that that should not be my first line of defense. It's great that I have supported people in my life that God has given me. But my first line of defense needs to be turned to God.
00:06:21
fillingyouupwithhope
and needs to be It needs to be prayer. and God is showing us that with with Moses. you know Moses prayed to God, and this is still in verse two, and the fire subsided. So God wants us to turn to him. right he he The fire subsided, and um and then going down to verse four.
00:06:50
fillingyouupwithhope
The riffraff among them had a strong craving. Even the Israelites cried again and said, who will give us meat to eat? So this is the Israelites. There's also some Egyptians there that went with the Israelites when they crossed the Red Sea. They might have been slaves as well. um But so anyways, so they're craving meat because they've been eating, like I said, this olive oil, manna, cake, and their they're missing meat. Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for free, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, the garlic. Now our lives are wasting away. There is nothing but manna in front of us. So they, how many times did we do this? We've talked about this a bunch in the pat and the podcast.
00:07:49
fillingyouupwithhope
Depression is going back into the past in your brain. Like, oh, ah like replaying things that have happened to us in the past, wishing things today were like they were in the past, um ri ruminating on things that have happened to us. And the lights just flickering here. in here and um So, but that they're doing that and they're thinking about how good it was in Egypt. In reality, they were enslaved in Egypt, right? And they cried out to God, they wanted to be rescued and God rescued his people who he loves. And they're losing sight of the blessings. The blessing that God parted the Red Sea performed a miracle in front of them and other miracles.
00:08:46
fillingyouupwithhope
the part of the Red Sea, they walked across a dry land and theyre they're forgetting, right? And how many times do we go through something and we forget the goodness of God? And we're just focused on like, why why am I going through this? Why me? This isn't fair. um And our brains are really like deeply focused on complaining on the lacking and what we don't have that we feel like we need instead of focusing on what we do have.
00:09:25
fillingyouupwithhope
so But anyway, so then it explains the manna cakes that they would make. And then, so Moses hears the people that he's leading, all of these people, so many people, he hears them crying throughout their clans, which you can imagine, like I think it affects a lot of us when people around us are really sad.
00:09:52
fillingyouupwithhope
ah The Lord was outraged and Moses was upset. Moses said to the Lord, why have you treated your servant so badly? And why haven't I found favor in your eyes? For you have placed the burden of all of these people on me. Did I conceive all the ah these people?
00:10:15
fillingyouupwithhope
that I give birth to them, that you would say to me, carry them at your breast as a nurse carries an ungueing child to the fertile lands, that you promised their ancestors. So you can feel that he feels this burden, right? He feels like he's responsible for for these people,
00:10:43
fillingyouupwithhope
He's responsible for their happiness, for their well-being, and he feels like pressure. Like how many of us can relate to that, right? Like
Moses' Leadership Burden
00:10:57
fillingyouupwithhope
feeling responsible for others and their well-being. And this is such a reminder that we're not the ones in control of them. So many of us have control issues, right? And we think that it's all on us. It's all on my shoulders to support my family to, you know, what whatever, whatever it is, right? And I think we can all think of things that feel like a burden to us. And anything that feels that way needs to be given to God. Because you feel that way.
00:11:44
fillingyouupwithhope
because it is too much, right? And God is showing Moses, so he turns to God and is like, I feel this is a huge burden, and God answers him, right? And and and we'll get there. So, like, we need to be doing that. Like, what are we putting in our brains? What are we putting um on us, on our shoulders, that does not need to be there. That's maybe out of our control, um or it's something that we really need to pray about and surrender to God. um So this is verse 16. This is how God answers Moses. The Lord said to Moses, gather before me seventy men from Israel's
00:12:40
fillingyouupwithhope
elders um whom you know as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the meeting tent and let them stand there. Then I'll descend and speak with you there. I really like this part. I'll take some of the spirit that is in you and I'll place it on them, like sharing the responsibility. Then they will carry the burden of the people with you so that you won't bear it alone.
00:13:11
fillingyouupwithhope
Like, I'm feeling like relief when I read that, right? Because i there's just this pressure when it's all on our shoulders and we need to be reminded like, wait a second, it's not whatever it is, whatever it is, it's not all on your shoulders, even if it feels like it is because you have God, right? And then who around you like praying about it and who around you can help you And God will guide you and show you, right? And sometimes it means leaving our comfort zone. A lot of us don't like to ask for help and we um we want to do it ourselves, right? But what a blessing that God made it so the burden was not all.
00:14:06
fillingyouupwithhope
Moses right and it never was because he has God and God is guiding him and every step like we see this that the Lord is telling him telling Moses what to do and Moses is having the faith to follow right he does talk back like in some of these verses but um oh
00:14:35
fillingyouupwithhope
And then God even um takes it further and says that, you know what?
God's Provision and Power
00:14:43
fillingyouupwithhope
I am, I will give you meat. I will give all of you meat. Like tomorrow, you're gonna you're gonna have meat and you're gonna have it for a long time. You won't just have it for one day or two days or five days or 10 days or 20 days, but for a whole month until it comes out of your nostrils and nauseates you.
00:15:05
fillingyouupwithhope
um And God is upset He is upset because Israelites have lost sight of the blessings and are focusing on what they don't know what they're lacking right and So but Moses is questioning God like how are you gonna do that? How are you gonna give us all this meat, right? Like how is that gonna happen? Can flocks and herds be found and slaughtered for them? So And God is like, no, is the Lord's power too weak? No, it's not. How many times, how many times do we not realize the power of God? I think it happens all the time because people get them themselves in all of us in situations that we feel like
00:16:05
fillingyouupwithhope
are impossible that this is just the way it's going to be. I'm going to be lonely. I'm not going to have friends. um My marriage is going to be like this. Whatever it is, right? And people feel like stuck that this is the way it's always going to be. And um they just think that that there isn't that there can't be any change that this is just what things are destin destined to be. And when they're doing that, they are too, just like Moses, like they're forgetting how powerful and mighty, like just, just face the size of a mustard seed, right? Can be how mighty our God is.
00:17:00
fillingyouupwithhope
yeah His power. And so if we're in any situation that we feel like is impossible, we need to connect to the power of our God. I really take that in because he can and give them meat, right? he and And he does. And he can part the Red Sea and he can save you and forgive you and give you hope no matter
00:17:31
fillingyouupwithhope
what you were going through and you can spend your life praising Him and sharing about His goodness. He can do that. He can change he can change our hearts. We can change our hearts and we're so blessed that we have a God who can change things.
00:17:53
fillingyouupwithhope
so we don't need to feel stuck and burdened. And there's other verses, there's tons of them that help with that. But this is like, and a couple weeks ago, we talked about this verse, Matthew 11, 28, come to me, all who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, yeah let me teach you. And because I am humble and gentle at heart,
00:18:23
fillingyouupwithhope
I will give you rest for your souls.
00:18:28
fillingyouupwithhope
So every if we are feeling burdened, like taking in that verse that, and we talked about this verse when we talked about rest in a podcast and, um, and good rest, like that's really gonna fill our souls up, uh, is resting in God and his promises.
00:18:53
fillingyouupwithhope
Right. And he, he promises that he'll take care of us and he is taking care of the Israelites. So, and then, um, there's a verse in Psalms, Psalms, um, 55, 22, give me, give your burdens to the Lord and he will take care of you. So whatever it is, we need to stop.
00:19:22
fillingyouupwithhope
Replaying it in our brains like I do and I think many of of us do we need to stop replaying in our brains we need to that instant whatever is burning in us pray about it and And give it to God and sometimes we have to do that over and over again um to remind ourselves and Sometimes it's remembering um And I know we've talked about this before things we can and can't control, right? And if it's something, there but there are things we have control over, we have control over if we are gonna pray and turn to God about things, if we're gonna read his word, if um we have control over these things, the the coping skills and the healthy things that that we do, how we spend our day, like we have control over these things.
00:20:21
fillingyouupwithhope
But there's other things that we that we don't have control over and we need to surrender. Like this problem in my relationship, God, it is in your hands. Like guide me, guide my steps, show me the path that you want me to take and I will follow you. So it's sometimes just helps thinking about like what I have control over, what I don't.
00:20:50
fillingyouupwithhope
And we always do have some control because we can pray and we can read God's work.
00:21:00
fillingyouupwithhope
So after Moses kinda questions, how are you gonna do this, God? He does follow and he does what God told him to do and talks to the Israelites and God does bring them quail, right? But he's he's angry.
00:21:20
fillingyouupwithhope
He's angry, and he he blazed against the people. That's the wording in Numbers. and And he's trying to teach us, right? What happens when we only follow our desires, right? Because that's what they were doing. They were they were only only following that.
00:21:49
fillingyouupwithhope
And God wants to tell us that no matter what, we can focus on the blessings in our life and the things that he has done. And so like, no matter what's weighing us down, if it's like that the desires that we have, um complaining,
00:22:16
fillingyouupwithhope
like burdens in relationships, feeling like we're a burden to other people. No matter what, no matter what it is, we can, we can bring it to God. We can give it to God and not complain or burden ourselves because we forget that we're free.
Living Free Through Faith
00:22:41
fillingyouupwithhope
Um, we are free because of Jesus because he died for us. And now, um, we have him.
00:22:49
fillingyouupwithhope
And we have his spirit. So we need to live like for free. So when we have these complaints and negative thoughts and feelings, those are, those are all things that we, we need to be praying about instead of complaining about. Right. And I'm telling myself this and I pray that we all like take that in deeply and focus on the the partings of red seas that we've had in our lives like we've all had miracles miracles happen in our lives praise god praise god and i'm so thankful for all of you and for this opportunity to get to talk about jesus so and his amazing word so
00:23:49
fillingyouupwithhope
i just I pray that that we all take this in and have a week where we focus on blessings and we give we give it to God and surrender. and I look forward to talking to you next Monday. Bye.