Entering the building of my working place, I need to walk up two stairwells in order to get to my office. One morning in the last week, I was having the same walk again. In front of me, there was a heavy-build lady with a backpack and other stuff in her hands. I followed her footsteps with my backpack on my back, a lunch box and a water bottle in my hands. Moments later, I found that I had the same laborious sound as her because my back and my legs were not cooperating anymore. I sighed and thought, “I am not young any more, and no wonder my wife kept telling me that I need to do more exercise.  Even though I “did” walk everyday :-)” Then, I told myself, “Wait, I should not be too harsh on myself – my short-breath may have something to do with the things (load) that I was carrying”.

In general, the load that we are carrying could be either a physical one or a mental one, or could be both – it depends upon which type of work / job that we are doing. Sometimes, we may feel heavily laden by either one of them, or by both. You may agree with me that physical load is easier to handle than the mental one if you have a healthy physical. Oftentimes, mental load is heavier than the physical one, especially when we added it “unintentionally” by ourselves. For example, we were pressed for meeting a schedule or deadline; we kept ‘scaring’ ourselves by thinking “I will be in a big trouble if I didn’t finish it on time, or I am not knowledgeable enough to finish it because it is beyond my ability”.  These are types of unwanted mental load, called worry and doubt, of that we need to be aware. The side effect is they not only affect our efficiency at work but also affect our physical health.

In our journey of faith, we may create similar “unwanted” mental loads by having a worrywart or a doubtful syndrome. These mental loads could hamper our growth in faith. The question is how can we alleviate these kinds of “unwanted” loads? Let us ponder upon the experience of Joseph – Jesus’ father. Can you imagine when Joseph was informed by Mary that she conceived a child already (as is recorded in Matthew 1:18) before their wedding day, what kind of emotions that he may have had?

“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 耶穌基督降生的事記在下面：他母親馬利亞已經許配了約瑟，還沒有迎娶，馬利亞就從聖靈懷了孕。(Matthew 1:18)”

The Bible didn’t tell us how long that Joseph had waited till he decided to divorce Mary quietly (Matthew 1:19). I think he must have gone through a tough time of emotional stages such as denials, worries, and doubts, during this period. These kinds of mental load, undoubtedly, are very heavy to him. However, God knows his situation – He sent an angel appeared to him and told him, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.「大衛的子孫約瑟，不要怕，只管娶過你的妻子馬利亞來，因她所懷的孕是從聖靈來的。她將要生一個兒子，你要給他起名叫耶穌，因他要將自己的百姓從罪惡裡救出來。」(Matthew 1:21)”

The important thing is Joseph submitted to God’s arrangement and I believe that his mental load was lifted accordingly (Matthew 1:24-25).  How comfort we shall be because our God “knows” — He knows our condition and difficulties and He has promised us, “Do not be afraid!”  This tells us that submission to God is a way to alleviate our unwanted mental loads and will enable us to face any situation courageously.

In this Christmas season, let us lift up our hope to our Lord and learn not be afraid of our conditions and difficulties because He is our savior and deliverer. He knows and He bears our burdens daily (Psalm 68:19). He promised us that:

“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken 你要把你的重擔卸給耶和華，他必撫養你，他永不叫義人動搖‧ (Psalm 55:22)”

“Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you. 你們要將一切的憂慮卸給　神、因為他顧念你們 (1 Peter 5:7)”