Soaring Christian Counseling

It’s been over a year now since I heard this little phrase in one of Stephen Mansfield’s sermons. It stuck in a groove in my brain and I’ve mused over it from time to time ever since. Having been around quite a bit of carpentry due to my husband’s bent toward the smell of freshly sawed wood, I was familiar with the term load-bearing walls—those placed strategically to support a roof or a floor above.

I embrace the concept. I want to lead a load-bearing life. But as I often bring up in counseling sessions, it’s those nagging ambivalences that are our undoing. So in all honesty, only part of me aspires to a load-bearing life—the lofty part wooed by the higher calling. The other part would just like it easy and comfortable. Who really likes sweat? Actually there seem to be such creatures.

I want the character that sustains the heaviness of adversity. I want patience, self-control, and forbearance. I also want to play Chopin and Mozart, and performing in Carnegie Hall would have been nice!

I always seem to go back to my hero, the man Moses. In my estimation, he exemplifies a load-bearing life. I have admired Moses and studied his life since I was a child. His humanity is always evidence, but his extraordinary boldness as he faces Pharaoh over and over, his vision for going to the promised land, his love for the wining, unfaithful Israelites, and his tenacity, have all spoken volumes to me.

Some adversity has been unleashed in our day that I believe only those with load-bearing lives will be able to sustain the pressures of our day. Stephen, in another sermon, said, “Passion is not enough. Vision is not enough. We need character to sustain the vision.” My spirit and my mind both knew he was speaking truth. We, as a nation, have seen this principle all too well in our political leaders.

I encourage myself and I encourage you to learn into the Word. Lean into prayer. Lean into a personal relationship with Almighty God. As we hold up our end of the load, He lifts us up. I love that promise: “He is the lifter of my head.” I pray that a lot and find great comfort in it.