He Ain’t Heavy. He’s My Brother.

I read these prophetic words from a minister’s e-mail yesterday: “The road has been rough with obstacles and detours, ups and downs, but soon things will become smoother and easier to navigate. Stay the course and trust Me (God) to bring you through to victory. You are My chosen generation.”

And those words sparked other words of an old song recorded by “The Hollies” in 1969. ”He Ain’t Heavy…He’s my Brother” was one of those “B” songs that the producers never thought would amount to the hit that it was. One of the explanations of the origin of the name of this song came from a well known Vietnam War photo where an American solider is carrying a Vietnamese man on his shoulders. A journalist had asked the soldier if he’d been carrying the man far, and the soldier smiled at the camera and said, “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.”

Of course that song points to one thing — bearing each other’s burdens. As brothers and sisters through faith, God wants us to help each other—in good times and in bad: “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:`4)

The words are especially poignant as I consider the roads that our Ukraine “brothers and sisters” are travelling down and who carry the weight of whether they and their families will survive this chaos. I cannot even imagine. https://youtu.be/fBI9i3HlFVE

The road is long, with many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where, who knows where,
But I’m strong, strong enough to carry him
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother

So on we go, his welfare is my concern
No burden is he to bare, we’ll get there
For I know he would not encumber me
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.

Those words sound almost scriptural. They carry the essence of our Lord Jesus Who willingly carried us down the long road to Calvary where He bore our failures, weaknesses, mistakes, and sins all the way to and on the Cross.

I am picking up the Cross along with our Lord today to pray and intercede for our brothers and sisters in the Ukraine. They aren’t heavy. They are our brothers and sisters. Won’t you join me in this prayer written by Ruth Graham Lotz (Billy Graham’s daughter)?

Lord of the nations, King of our hearts,
You are our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear though the earth give way. You make wars to cease to the ends of the earth. You will be exalted among the nations. And so we fix our eyes on You, even as we ask You to fix Your eyes on the people in Ukraine. On their behalf, we turn to You. We run to You. We cling to You. We plead with You.

God of mercies,
Please. Command Your angels to guard the Ukrainian people and children. Rescue them. Protect them. Hear their cries. Answer their prayers. Draw near to them so that they feel Your loving presence. Feed them with manna from Heaven. Keep them warm as they huddle in basements and bomb shelters and subway tunnels. Give them wisdom and clear direction for the next steps. Surround them with those who will pray with them and for them. Bring Your promises to their minds. Whisper to them that they are not alone. You are with them as they live in this valley of the shadow of death. Turn their hearts to hold fast to You, then deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Lord of Hosts, Captain of Heaven’s armies,
You have said You love justice. You have said You will judge the world in righteousness. Surely this is the time for all the people to see Your glory as You part Your heavens, O Lord, and come down. Send forth lightning and scatter their enemies. Convict the Russians soldiers of their cruelty and unwarranted aggression so that they lay down their arms. What Vladimir Putin has planned, bring back on his own head. Provoke the Russian people to protest by the hundreds of thousands, toppling their evil leadership, even as he seeks to topple the leadership in Kyiv.

O God of might and glory, make Yourself known.
Execute justice. Assert Your righteousness. Triumph over evil. Establish peace. We stand against the enemy on our knees gripping the sword in our hand. Hear our prayer. Save our brothers and sisters. Give supernatural strength and courage. Bring them safely home.For Your great name’s sake…Jesus, Amen.