SHEILA WALSH — I bumped into a woman, literally, at the airport the other day. She was carrying so many bags and in such a hurry that we collided as I exited the coffee shop. After we apologized to each other I stopped to help her pick up her stuff.

“If you think this is a lot,” she said, “you should see what I’m carrying on the inside!”

She laughed as she headed off to her gate but there was something in the tone of her voice that resonated with me.

Don’t you ever feel that way?

Weighed down.

Burdened.

One of the greatest lessons I have learned in my life is that God is big enough to handle all the stuff we carry with us.  Anger, despair, shame, insecurity, heartbreak. We can take it to Him.

The scriptures promise that He cares.

The scriptures promise that He will uphold us.

“Cast your cares upon Him, because He cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7)

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

Life can get crazy, but we are never alone. At times we feel that one more thing might tip us over the edge. Yet God has promised that we will not be given more than we can bear. That’s what Paul is talking about when he writes:

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:8-11)

That, friends, is our God-given, take-it-to-the-bank hope!

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

A woman of faith is one who is visited by the storms of life that hit each one of us, yet still holds fast to the truth — so that, although she does not understand everything, her faith is in the finished work of Christ.  Wherever you are today, whatever it is that you have faced or will face, I urge you friends, to hold fast to the promises of God.  You are not alone, even in the darkest of storms or the busiest of airports.

Our God is faithful!