The Straw That Broke The Camel's Back

You have probably heard the old saying "that was the straw that broke the camel's back". It usually refers to the situation or circumstance that was just too much to handle on top of a pile of past situations or circumstances and the person saying it is completely overwhelmed with life. This is exactly the position the enemy of our souls, Satan, wants us to be in. He wants us to feel helpless and overwhelmed by all that is going on around us. 


Sometimes we are faced with one calamity after another. We feel like we are being bombarded on every side. It seems like we just don't know where to turn for relief. At other times, when things seem to be going well, Satan will make sure you begin to store up offenses committed against you, so that you feel like everyone is against you. He will make sure that when you are feeling down he will send one more person your way with a negative comment so that they can become your straw that breaks the camel's back.


Maybe you feel like crying out to God and asking Him to take some of the weight off. "Oh Master, this load of straw is getting a little heavy to bear on this ole' camel's back. I don't know if I can take one more piece of straw." Let me encourage you to remember that God will never give us more than we can bear. He will take care of us and rescue us if need be. But we have to turn to Him. We need to stay focused on Him instead of all that is around us. We may not understand how He is going to lift our burden of straw from our backs but we do need to understand that He will lift it.  


When I was younger we would sing a chorus in church called I Go To The Rock, by Aaron Jeoffrey. It goes like this:
I go to the Rock of my Salvation 
I go to the Stone that the builders rejected 
I run to the mountain and the mountain stands by me 
When the earth all around me is sinking sand 
On Christ, the solid rock I stand 
When I need a shelter, When I need a friend, 
I go to the Rock


Many times when I feel overwhelmed and I feel like I just can't take one more piece of straw, the Lord will remind me of this precious chorus and I will find myself singing it over and over in my head until my heart receives it. When we are feeling overwhelmed we need to go to Jesus. When we are feeling lost and alone, we need to run to Jesus. When everything is going wrong in our life, everything is sinking sand, we need to hang on to Christ and know that He will bring us through. 


He will always be there for us. He will always be our friend, our shelter, our Saviour; but we need to make the choice to run to Him and when we do we will find that He is there waiting for us. He will never let you down. He will never disappoint you. Don't allow Satan to distract you and discourage you from following after God. Stay focused on Jesus and let everything else go.