God’s Kind of Burden

“When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit." 
Genesis 14:14 (NIV)

What moves you to action says everything about what you actually care about.

Abraham hears the news. Lot's been captured, carried off by four kings, gone. And something stirs in him immediately. It’s not anger or obligation. It’s closer to grief. He feels the weight of a person far from home, far from God, and he cannot stay seated.

That's what it’s like to experience God's burden. God has a heart for people who are far from Him, and we are to carry that same ache. 

Abraham doesn't calculate whether Lot deserves rescuing. He doesn't think through the history of poor decisions that got him captured in the first place. He just moves.

There is someone in your world right now who is captured and doesn't even know it. It could be a coworker drowning in cynicism. Maybe it’s a family member who has been quietly disappearing into addiction or an old friend building their entire life on the wrong foundation. You already know who it is because you’ve felt the pull toward them.

And you've thought about reaching out. Maybe you've almost texted. That “almost” is where burden dies. Don't let it die there. Send the message today, and not a clever one, just an honest one. "Hey, I've been thinking about you. Can we grab coffee?" 

Abraham didn't wait until the moment felt right. Neither did God, when He came for you. That same grace that found you is exactly what you get to carry to someone else.

Prayer: God, give me Your eyes for the people around me. It’s so easy to be too distracted and busy, but you pursue those far from you. Stir that same burden in me today, and show me one person to focus my prayer and time toward. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.