Divine Shoulders Stoop

“Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.” (Am 2:13 AV)

Have you ever wondered if God ever gets weighted down by our situation?  The speaker above is the LORD.  He is speaking of the house of Israel being a great burden to Him because of their disobedience and lack of faith.  The picture here is of an overloaded vehicle.  We may not have carts, but we have seen many overloaded trucks or cars in our life time.  They are loaded down with building materials, rubbish, or our household goods.  The back wheels are tucked into the wheel well under the strain of the weight.  The tailpipe drags and sparks are flown upward.  The shocks have bottomed out and every bump is felt right to the frame.  In the immediate context, what bothered the LORD so much that He expressed His burden was the people of God forced compromise on the men of God.  The made the Nazarite drink wine and the prophets were disallowed to prophesy.  What we want to dwell upon is: what is it that we do which causes God to be overburdened with our actions or choices?

Have you ever watched a parent with a seriously erring child?  Have you ever seen a physician who was very close to a dying patient?  Have you ever talked with a teacher who was so moved by a failing student it changed their disposition?  Have you ever watched a pastor who was dealing with many serious problems with his church?  They all have the same thing in common.  Did you notice their posture?  Did you happen to notice how their gaze was cast down?  Did you notice how their shoulders were not pushed back or how they were not standing straight?  Did you notice it appeared as though they were carrying an unseen weight of great magnitude that if lifted, would straighten it all out?  If you are the cause of this, did it bother you?  What if your parents, teacher, or pastor was so burdened by you that it literally changed who and what they are?  What would we do differently?  Do we even feel bad about it that we are causing such grief?

What amazes me is a God who is all-powerful can be overburdened by the situation of the people whom He created and loves.  To think that even God’s shoulders are not broad enough to put up with who and what we are is astounding.  It should be life altering to think that we can get to a place where even the LORD’s shoulders stoop a bit.  To think the LORD is in such a condition over who and what we are that it changes His spirit towards us ought to be the motivation to make some changes.  Perhaps we should learn a lesson from the prodigal.  When he returned to face his father, he was ready to admit that what he had done was an offense.  He was willing to acknowledge the emotional damage he had done to both his father and his God.  When we stop to think that God has feelings about us and is seriously concerned with what we do and who we are, we need to get a bit more sensitive to a God who feels.