Too Big a Burden
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Ps. 55:22
This is too much for me! I can’t handle it! I can’t do this! I’m going to quit! I can’t handle this burden! How often I have cried out words like these to God, and I know I’m not alone. I give up! a friend said she cried out. That’s exactly what God wants, isn’t it, that in falling under the weight of our burdens, we would give up – to Him. He doesn’t want us to give in to the devil coming at us, nor to the flesh begging us to sin to find comfort, relief, and escape, but to give ourselves over to His infinite love and power, strength and majesty, comfort and ability, and magnificence. He wants us to depend on HIM.
The problem I’ve had is two-fold. I think there is something wrong if my burden seems too big to bear. So I try to figure out how to get rid of the burden. Or, I hang onto it and try to bear it in my “strength”, i.e. weakness. I expect God to take the burden from me by changing my circumstances, or I try to prove myself to God by handling whatever He allows in my life. How wrong I am!
Life on this sin-ridden earth IS too much for us to bear. Our trials can seem, and be, insurmountable at times. But God doesn’t expect us to bear life’s burdens without Him. While He allows the burdens to test our love and faith, to teach, refine and transform us, He doesn’t expect us to carry them on our own. He wants us to depend on His love, strength, grace, and mercy, to cast our burdens on Him, and to learn to rest peacefully in Him as we walk day by day in the sunshine of His love. Cast your burden upon Him! Live in His strength, not your weakness. Spend time in His presence. Rest in the promises of His Word. Rest in Him.