THE 10-90 RULE OF LIFE

Who of us has not experienced the intense weight of suffering, whether it is physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual? I’ve heard it described as a pressing down, a heavy weight on one’s chest, intense anxiety, even trudging through thick mud exhausted with the prospect of moving even one step further. Suffering can be overwhelming and oppressive.

The burden you carry may not even be your own. Empathetic or sympathetic concern for the suffering of others can be as oppressive as any distress we might experience personally.

Given that suffering can be a frequent companion, how do we cope when confronted by the stress, pressures, and burdens that come from simply living life? Here are a few thoughts:

1. Be determined to be a person of character. When you intentionally pursue being a person of integrity, your character shapes your decision-making. The decisions of life become more obvious and compromise-free. Many times we are weighed down by the burden of our own poor personal decision-making. We are seduced by the easy, quick, or immediately gratifying answer. Don't get distracted. Stick to your guns. Making right decisions eliminates the stress of carelessness.

2. Don't carry the weight alone. Some of us try to get through the struggles of life on our own, but isolation in the middle of difficulty can intensify the burden. Burdens are best carried with the support and love of others. Choose carefully and surround yourself with authentic, trustworthy, wise, and godly people.

3. Trust. There is One who loves you more than you can imagine. There is no burden that you carry He cannot identify with, no trouble that Christ does not desire to walk through with you. Trust the Lord, even when life doesn't make sense. What we don't understand today we live knowing He does. The Lord has all our todays and tomorrows in His hands.

We all share the same reality of suffering that confronts a fallen world. But we also share a choice of how we will respond to the troubles and burdens of life. We can choose to let them crush us, or embrace those attitudes and influences that will allow us to live above circumstance. As Chuck has said, "Life is 10 per cent what happens to us, and 90 per cent how we respond to it."

Just a thought,