A pastor once gave an illustration in a sermon.
The usual glass of water rested on his pulpit in case he needed to quench his thirst, but this time out, the pastor intended for this object to prove a conscious point. He picked up the glass and asked, “Folks, how much do you think this glass of water weighs? Note that it is plain, old water. How much does it weigh?”
After several moments of awkward silence, the pastor encouraged audible guesses from the congregation. “No, c’mon, shout out to me how much you think this water weighs,” the preacher offered with a smile.
One man spoke out, “eight ounces?” A woman from the back yelled out, “twelve ounces?”
The preacher interjected, “are you thinking of a measurement in volume or in weight? Fluid ounces or regular ounces? I’m asking how much it would weigh if you were to place it on a scale.”
Keeping that in mind, the audience once again rattled off possible answers. “One pound?” said one. “Two pounds?” proclaimed another.
The reverend replied, “the answer is right between those two guesses. Both the weight of the water and the glass glass it’s in come up to 1.2 pounds! Now, if I were to pick up this glass of water, do you think I would have any trouble holding it up?”
Shouts of “no!” could be heard throughout the congregation.
“You’re right. I would have no difficulty picking this up. Even a small child would be able to do this,” answered the preacher.
The pastor took hold of the glass, extended his arm outwards, and asked, “What if I were to hold this glass like this for one minute?”
Again, the audience showed no concern regarding his ability to hold onto the water.
“What if I were to hold onto this for an hour? While initially not feeling heavy at all, all that continued stress for that amount of time would make my arm start to ache. If I held onto it all day long, my arm and shoulder would become extremely numb and almost paralyzed. Throughout all of this, the weight of the glass hasn’t changed one bit. But the longer I hold onto it, the heavier it becomes.”
“What’s my point? Well, the heaviness of life…the stresses we go through, the worries we carry, the tumultuous burdens we dwell on are like this. While initially, we think that they are ‘light’ enough to carry and manageable to deal with. If you think about them at first, there may be no problem.”
“We dwell on them a little longer, and it weighs on us. It’s taxing. A little longer, and things begin to hurt. You think about them all day long, all week long, or even hold onto these worries for years or decades, and they can paralyze us, rendering us incapable of functioning normally as followers of Christ.”
“With Jesus Christ, He offers us rest when we have these kinds of deep worries and burdens. He wants us to trust Him and come to Him when it seems like we have to carry things mentally. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30, ‘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.’“
“Whatever it is you have gone through in the past or if you have current difficulties, take them to the Lord Jesus. Unload on Him and trust in Him to have full control of the situation, give you healing, and grant you peace of mind. Give it all to Jesus.”
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