The Weight We Carry: Finding Divine Strength in Christ

In the quiet moments of honest reflection, we all feel weights pressing upon our souls. Some days, the burdens feel almost too heavy to bear — relationships that strain our hearts, responsibilities that test our limits, and spiritual questions that challenge our faith.

When things seem hard, there's a simple but powerful question we can ask ourselves:

• Am I focusing too much on I and me?
• Or am I turning to Him?

The Savior's invitation echoes across time: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." This isn't just beautiful poetry — it's a living promise I've seen fulfilled repeatedly in my own life and in the lives of countless others who have dared to take Him at His word.

Divine Principle

Christ's doctrine teaches us something revolutionary about our burdens: His yoke is easy not because He removes the weight, but because He infuses us with divine power to carry it. This transformation happens not through the elimination of challenges, but through the multiplication of our capacity. When we partner with Him, we access a strength beyond our natural abilities.

I've witnessed this divine mathematics at work: adding Christ to our equation doesn't just subtract burden — it multiplies strength. President Russell M. Nelson captured this truth perfectly when he taught that "Men are that they might have joy, not guilt trips!" Joy comes not from the absence of weight, but from the presence of divine strength to bear it.

The Only Person You Can Change Is You

It's easy to focus on what others should be doing — how they could improve, where they've fallen short — but the only person you have control over is yourself. This isn't a limitation — it's liberation. When we stop expending energy trying to fix others and redirect that energy toward our own spiritual growth, we find ourselves accessing previously untapped reservoirs of divine strength.

Christ's analogy of the mote and the beam makes this clear: we see the tiny flaw in someone else while being blind to what we still need to correct. The first step in growth is humility — recognizing that our own work before God is what truly matters.

And here's the great relief: you are not responsible for what others do, only for what you do. Let God be the judge. This means we don't have to carry resentment, worry about fairness, or try to control what is outside our stewardship.

Seeing Others Through God's Eyes

Instead, our task is to extend grace — to strengthen others where they stand, to seek out the good in them, and to praise them for what they are doing right. If you look for the good, you will find it.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once observed that the average person is superior to you in at least one way. C.S. Lewis went further, suggesting that if we saw another person in their true glory, we'd be tempted to worship them. How differently would we treat people if we truly saw them as God does?

Practical Application

This principle becomes real when we focus on what we can control rather than what we cannot. Here's what I've learned works:

1. Begin each day with surrender - Start your morning by consciously inviting Christ into your challenges. Rather than asking Him to remove the weight, ask Him to strengthen your shoulders.

2. Practice spiritual redirection - When you catch yourself worrying about others' choices or circumstances beyond your control, immediately redirect that energy into your own spiritual growth.

3. Record divine assistance - End each day by writing in a journal specific instances where you felt divine strength supporting you. This builds a personal witness of Christ's power in your life.

Where Do You Stand?

At the end of the day, the real question isn't whether others have done right by you — it's whether you have done right before God. Instead of focusing on whether life is fair, focus on how you are using what God has given you.

So ask yourself:

• Am I wasting energy worrying about others' faults instead of refining my own?
• Am I seeing the good in people, strengthening them where they stand?
• Am I allowing Christ to increase my capacity, or am I relying on my own strength?

An Invitation

I invite you to test this principle for yourself. For one week, consciously shift your focus from what others should be doing to what Christ is asking of you. Notice how this shift affects your spiritual strength. Record what you discover.

The promise is sure: as you turn to Christ and allow Him to transform your burdens into building blocks, you'll discover a strength beyond your own. Your capacity will increase. Your understanding will deepen. And most importantly, you'll find that His yoke truly is easy — not because the weight disappears, but because His strength becomes yours.

Take that first step today. Turn to Him. Let go of what you cannot control. Focus on your own growth.

And watch as He transforms your burdens into blessings.

A personal note: This truth has transformed my own journey from one of exhaustion to one of empowerment. The weights haven't disappeared, but through Christ, they've become instruments of growth rather than sources of despair.