"Look from the top." (Song of Solomon 4:8)
Crushing weights give the Christian wings. It seems like a contradiction in terms, but it is a blessed truth. David out of some bitter experience cried: "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! Then would I fly away, and be at rest" (Psa. 55:6). But before he finished this meditation he seems to have realized that his wish for wings was a realizable one. For he says, "Cast thy burden upon Jehovah, and he will sustain thee."
The word "burden" is translated in the Bible margin, "what he (Jehovah) hath given thee." The saints' burdens are God-given; they lead him to "wait upon Jehovah," and when that is done, in the magic of trust, the "burden" is metamorphosed into a pair of wings, and the weighted one "mounts up with wings as eagles. --Sunday School Times.
One day when walking down the street,
On business bent, while thinking hard
About the "hundred cares" which seemed
Like thunder clouds about to break
In torrents, Self-pity said to me:
"You poor, poor thing, you have too much
To do. Your life is far too hard.
This heavy load will crush you soon."
A swift response of sympathy
Welled up within. The burning sun
Seemed more intense. The dust and noise
Of puffing motors flying past
With rasping blast of blowing horn
Incensed still more the whining nerves,
The fabled last back-breaking straw
To weary, troubled, fretting mind.
"Ah, yes, 'twill break and crush my life;
I cannot bear this constant strain
Of endless, aggravating cares;
They are too great for such as I."
So thus my heart condoled itself,
"Enjoying misery," when lo!
A "still small voice" distinctly said,
"Twas sent to lift you--not to crush."
I saw at once my great mistake.
My place was not beneath the load
But on the top! God meant it not
That I should carry it. He sent
It here to carry me. Full well
He knew my incapacity
Before the plan was made. He saw
A child of His in need of grace
And power to serve; a puny twig
Requiring sun and rain to grow;
An undeveloped chrysalis;
A weak soul lacking faith in God.
He could not help but see all this
And more. And then, with tender thought
He placed it where it had to grow—
Or die. To lie and cringe beneath
One's load means death, but life and power
Await all those who dare to rise above.
Our burdens are our wings; on them
We soar to higher realms of grace;
Without them we must roam for aye
On planes of undeveloped faith,
(For faith grows but by exercise
In circumstance impossible).
Oh, paradox of Heaven. The load
We think will crush was sent to lift us
Up to God! Then, soul of mine,
Climb up! for naught can e'er be crushed
Save what is underneath the weight.
How may we climb! By what ascent
Shall we surmount the carping cares
Of life! Within His word is found
The key which opes His secret stairs;
Alone with Christ, secluded there,
We mount our loads, and rest in Him.
--Miss Mary Butterfield.
三月九日
“从...顶...往下观看”(歌四:8) 。
重压使基督徒飞腾。似乎是矛盾，其实是真理。大卫在苦难中喊叫说:“但愿我有翅膀像鸽子，我就飞去，得享安息”(诗五十五：6)。他的祷告尚未完毕，他似乎已经承认他的心愿已经达到，真生了翅膀。因为他不再觉得重压，并且还能凭他的经验劝人说:“你要把你的重担卸给耶和华，他必抚养你”(二十二节) 。
“重担”在圣经的边注里译作“神所给你的东西”。信徒的重担原是神给的; 重担帮助我们等候神，依赖神；什么时侯我们能满足神的用意，什么时侯身上的重担就化成翅膀，我们就能“如鹰展翅上腾”。(赛四十：31)——译自主日学报
一日，我在街上奔走，
事业的重负使我忧心忡忡，
种种烦虑有如阵雨之欲来，
胸中乌云密布。
于是自怜的心对自己说：
“可怜的人啊！你要做的事太多。
你实在太劳苦。
这沉重负担不久会使你困苦。”
心中起了强烈反应，
好如暴露在炎热阳光下，
更如街车疾驶而过,灰尘飞扬，
喧哗杂闹和刺耳的噪音，
紧张更添了刺激，
疲累而困恼的心，
已经达到了崩裂的边疆。
“哦! 是的, 它会压碎我的生命；
我无法忍受无穷无尽的紧张，
不断而来的忧虑，
对我真是重压难当。”
我的心哪自安自慰说：
“安心於不幸吧！”
忽然听到细微之声清晰地说：
“这不是来压碎你，而是来支持你。”
我立刻发现落入重大错误中，
我的地位不在重负下，却在重负上！
神的美意不是让我去背负，而是神背负我。
神在安排他旨意之前，
他早已知道我的缺点，
亦看清了我的脆弱灵魂，
他的子民需要恩典和能力，
一枝嫩芽需要阳光雨露来培养。
他未作帮助之前把一切看清，
然后按照他的旨意与周详的慈念，
把它放在它应站的地位上，
这是生死两可的关键。
在重负之下畏缩瘫痪下死亡，
有勇气站起身来，就得生命力量。
我们的负担就是我们的翅膀；
借此可以飞升到天上恩慈座旁；
如果没有信心的翅膀，
我们信心将永不成熟仰望。
“信心非经困难环境的锻练，决不成长”。
这是天国奥秘的真理。
我们以为有压碎我们生命的重负，
其实是背负我们飞向天上神的翅膀。
向上爬吧！决不会被压碎，
除非你沉滞在重负之下，
我们怎样向上爬！
如何能凌驾在忧患与苦闷之上；
哦神；你的话显示向上的阶梯，
就是我们先隐退一时，
和基督单独相处，
就是凌驾一切忧患重负的秘方，
因着主耶稣基督，得到他安息与慈祥。
——白德菲