Lifting the Weight of Our Burdens
Psalm 55:16-22
Have you ever suddenly awoken in the middle of the night with some heavy burden on your? Whether emotional, financial, or relational, our burdens can weigh us down. They can also spur us to action.
There are different kinds of burdens. Some, like an impulse to pray for others or a strong motivation to do God’s will, are intentionally placed by the Lord and won’t be lifted until He has accomplished His purpose. We also have sin burdens, which cannot be removed until confessed. But we are not meant to carry the burdens stemming from worries over daily life, family responsibilities, and the like.
We tend to think of burdens as our lot in life – as if we were ordained to shoulder these difficulties ourselves without “bothering” God concerning trivial problems. Actually, our lot in life is to walk obediently before God and trust in Him to handle any weightiness in our lives. We are to cast every burden on Him by identifying what it is and then surrendering it into His care. (1 Peter 5:7) Laying burdens down requires faith: we trust God will sustain us as He has promised.
Relinquishing the grasp on our burdens does not mean we stop thinking about them. In fact, as God is daily bearing a burden in our stead, He expects that we will be prayerfully seeking His mind and heart about how to resolve it. And certainly He loves to hear us bless His name for shouldering our worries. (Psalm 68:19) Are you carrying a heavy load? God wants to cradle your burden – and you – in His hand.
Daily Devotions with Dr. Charles Stanlley, InTouch Ministries