Your Burden Bearer

Dave was going through a rough season.  Looking back on it now, the load seems pretty mind-numbing.  He was being viciously verbally attacked by other people, including complete strangers.  His casual acquaintances were keeping their distance, but he had that feeling you get when all eyes are upon you.

He was physically impaired for a while, and his health looked pretty grim at one point.  I would say his life flashed before his eyes, but in Dave’s case it was more like his life grabbed him by the ankle and started dragging.  Dave was understandably terrified.

Then to make matters worse, one of Dave’s closest, most trusted friends betrayed him.  And for some time Dave had dealt with the anguish, disbelief, and downright bitterness that comes with that kind of pain.

But through it all, Dave learned a powerful lesson.  And you can read all about it in Psalm 55.  The lesson:

Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;

He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (Psalm 55:22).

What if “never” means never?  What if the Lord really meant it when He said that whoever casts their burden on Him will never be shaken?  Not by pain, rejection, death, fear, bitterness, or any other kind of stress?

Is that a promise worth clinging to?

Interesting that the psalmist equates righteousness with those who cast their burden on the Lord.  The evidence that you are righteous has everything to do with what you do with your burdens.  Everybody has theirs.  The righteous man or woman is the one who takes their burden and hurls it upon the Lord to carry.

Interesting also how the Lord phrases this promise.  He doesn’t say He will carry your burden.  He says He will sustain you.

Imagine being on an endless journey, carrying an impossible load.  The Lord comes alongside (thank you, Holy Spirit) and you cast your burden on Him.

Guess what?  You’re still on the journey.  He wants to sustain you.  The idea is that you hand off the burden and allow Him to fill you with His power so you can fellowship with the Holy Spirit as He carries the burden, sustains you, and you keep walking to the destination together.

The Lord doesn’t carry your burden as your spiritual donkey – so you can run away, loaf, or go flirt with the enemy.  He carries the burden by sustaining you, so you can walk in precious fellowship and intimacy with Him.

Could you decide today that the Lord is worthy of your trust?

Can you trust Him to carry your heavy load and sustain you?

Will you walk in intimacy with Him, even through the perils, stresses, and challenges, knowing that your burden is not yours to carry – and that your life is not your own?

Oh, and one more thing… If you really are not carrying that heavy burden anymore, could you notify your face that it doesn’t have to look so wasted?  You’ve just gone from strained to sustained.

Your Burden Bearer is on the job.

Tagged as: Anxiety, Endurance, Faith, Stress