This post is written by Leslie Hudson and is published as a companion to Unit 18, Session 5 of The Gospel Project for Adults Vol. 6 (Winter 2022-23): From Captivity to Restoration.

I love hiking. I love the adventure, I love the views, I love the group energy, and I love the gear. I love the feeling of excitement early in the morning as you grab your backpack, and I love the fulfilled exhaustion that afternoon when I finally get back to the car and take the pack off.

I’m a flatlander, from the not-very-impressive altitude of around 800 feet in middle Tennessee. But in spite of my home state, my favorite hiking trips ever have taken place in the Rocky Mountains. I’ve scaled fourteeners (14,000 feet altitude), looked over valleys 5000 feet below me, stomped in snow in July, and literally had my hat (tied securely under my neck) yanked off my head when the wind picked up. It’s life-changing; it’s beautiful; and though at least one time on every great hike I’m sure my heart will explode, it’s always worth the effort.

Packing for the Rockies

But I struggle with packing for a great hike in the Rockies. You see, the rule of fourteeners is that you must be off the peak before noon because storms regularly roll in during the afternoon. And scrambling down rocks in the rain and thunder above tree line is not where anyone wants to be. And since most of those hikes are five miles or more one way, we’re typically on the trail before sunrise. Pre-dawn at altitude in the Rockies is always cold—usually in the 30s, even in the summer. So we start with pants, thick socks, a couple of layers at the top, and a hat.

As we get going, though, we start to warm up, partly from the sun rising and partly from the energy expended. So the layers start to come off. By mid-morning, I’m usually in shorts and a t-shirt, with all my cold gear back in the pack. However, once you get above tree line, it starts to get cool again, so the layers come back out. I don’t know what the temperature is on top of a fourteener, but most of the pictures I have from the top include me in almost every item of clothing I’ve packed.

Also in my pack is fuel for the day: water, sports drink, bars, fruit, nuts, trail mix, and a sandwich if I planned ahead. Then there’s all the little stuff: keys, phone, gloves, extra socks, a hat to keep out the sun and a hat to keep out the cold. Needless to say, my pack is stuffed. And I forgot to mention that it’s no hiker’s backpack; it’s my old school backpack from college. It was fine for carrying books, but by the time it’s loaded with clothes, food, water, and other supplies, every zipper is screaming for relief.

I try to focus on my form as I hike, but the exhaustion makes one lean over. Between the weight of the pack and the wind and the cold and the sun, I’m usually leaning forward, hunched over, and taking small steps. It’s not the look of a strong, confident hiker, but one who simply wants to get to the top before noon.

A Spiritual Burden

This is the exact image that came to mind as I pondered the topic of this week’s session from Malachi, entitled “A Burdened People.” I know what it feels like to carry a burden, I know what it looks like to carry a burden, and I know the ecstatic relief that falls upon my weary shoulders after removing that burden at the end of the day.

But Malachi wasn’t hiking or carrying a pack; the burden in this week’s lesson isn’t going to require a hot pad or a chiropractor. No, it’s a spiritual burden of the worst kind: sin. God’s people had been burdened with their own sin and then piled upon it was the guilt and shame that accompany it. God’s standard is incredibly perfect, and most of us have felt the burden of our sin, guilt, and shame.

But even in studying Malachi, we can see the hope—we need not keep that burden on us. God has a plan to remove the burden of our sin, and it requires not finishing the hike but handing it off to someone else: Jesus. He came to earth with strong shoulders and a sturdy back, prepared to carry the burden that’s exhausting us.

So don’t avoid this lesson because you don’t want to face your sin; come to the lesson and learn how to give the burden that’s holding you down to Jesus. No weight is too big or small. He’s there to carry it for you.

Leslie Hudson loves her mornings of silence, coffee, and Jesus—not in that order. She lives with her husband and kids in White Bluff, Tennessee, where they raise blueberries, figs, and bees. She loves to spend her free time reading, writing, journaling, and helping others know and follow Jesus.