HOPE

During the month of November our church collected “Cans of Coins.”  The money that was collected is being used to create goodie bags to take to the shut in’s.  I had the job of taking all the change to the bank.  I opened all the cans and one by one poured the change into a bag.  After I was finished I lifted or attempted to lift the bag off the counter.  Oh My!  54 lbs. of change.  That bag was HEAVY.

As I was carrying the bag of change to my car and lifting it into the seat, I began to think of the change as a burden.  It was heavy, hard to carry and I had to strain to pick it up.  Many people have burdens.  Those burdens are as heavy as the 54 lbs. of change, some even heavier.  Their burdens weigh them down and fill them with depression.  They can’t seem to carry the burden and they become broken. 

As I go to the Bible to look for those that carried burdens I begin with Joseph. Joseph was a great man who looked forward to marrying Mary, then wham a heavy burden took over his body.  He found out that Mary was pregnant.  What a burden it was at first on his heart.  They weren’t married nor had they been physically intimate.  Joseph was heartsick, but he loved Mary deeply.  He decided that he would break off the engagement quietly so that Mary wasn’t humiliating. 

As Joseph was preparing to go forward with his decision an angel appeared and told Joseph, “Do not be afraid.  Take Mary as your wife.  The child she is carrying is the Son of God and you shall call him Jesus.  He will save his people from sin.”

What did the angel give Joseph?  The angel gave him hope, hope amidst the burden that he was carrying.  The heavy pounds that weighed on his heart were now beginning to shrink in size and weight.  The burden wasn’t as heavy. 

All we need is hope.  Jesus gives us hope and reassurance that burdens will be lightened when we go to him.  When we can understand that blessings come from burdens, weight will be lifted from our hearts and we will be filled with hope. 

The change I took to the bank added up to $450 in bills.  Those bills didn’t weigh even close to 54 pounds.  At first the change was heavy, hard to carry and difficult to lift, but now the money is light.  The transformation of the change from heavy to the light will bring a blessing to many. 

Don’t lose hope.  Go to God and let Him transform your heavy burdens into blessings. 

Matthew 1:18-21New International Version (NIV)

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about[a]: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet[b] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins.”