Latest / Prayer Before Work / S01E40 - CARRYING SOMEONE ELSE'S BURDEN
Transcript
- Sean Graver: Someone on your team is struggling right now. You can see it in the way they're showing up and what they're not saying, and the weight they're carrying that has nothing to do with the work. And you're not sure what to do with that. Well, let's bring that person to God before the day even starts. Well, let's look at Galatians 6:2. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Now, this is one of the clearest commands in the New Testament about how we treat each other. And the Apostle Paul puts it in a work and community context. Carry each other's burdens, not necessarily to fix them or solve them, or even manage them yourself. Carry them. Get under the weight with the person who is struggling. And he says this fulfills the law of Christ, which means burden bearing, bur burden bearing. Is central to what following Jesus looks like in practice. Most of us want to help someone who's struggling, but the harder question is how? Because the wrong kind of help can feel like intrusion or pity, or maybe even pressure to be further along than they are. So what do we often do? Nothing. Which feels safer. But it isn't actually kind. Now here's what I have found that works. Presence before advice, showing up before speaking, asking one honest question. How are you actually doing? And then being quiet enough to hear the real answer. And if the answer you get is I'm doing fine, try giving it a few more seconds, a few more seconds of silence. That's uncomfortable and it commonly results in hearing the real truth. Then you can respond with something like, I see you and and I'm here. What do you need? Now you can't carry everything for someone else. You're not supposed to. But you can walk alongside them close enough that the weight is distributed differently than it was before you showed up. And that's what burden bearing looks like in a real workplace. So let's pray. God, there's someone in my work life right now who's carrying something heavy. You know who it is. You see what they're going through more clearly than I do. Would you show me how to show up for them today? I don't need the perfect words or the perfect solution, just genuine presence. Help me ask the right question and be quiet enough to hear the real answer. And where I'm tempted to stay at a safe distance because I don't know what to say? Give me the courage to show up anyway. Help me carry something with them today. Use me to lighten someone's load. In Jesus' name. Amen. I'll go make today count.