Every day each of us deal with a burden(s) that in many cases seems just too heavy to carry! It’s an issue which I have always struggled with; are we supposed to carry those burdens?
Ps 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
What bothered me was the thought that “casting” my burden on Jesus was just an excuse for not doing my part. But what is my part? I got some great insight from Oswald Chambers the other morning and I thought it might help shed some light on how we are to deal with life’s burdens. Here are some of his thoughts to consider:
- We ought never to bear the burden of sin or of doubt, but there are burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off, He wants us to roll them back on Him.
- If we undertake work for God and get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility will be overwhelmingly crushing; but if we roll back on God that which He has put upon us, He takes away the sense of responsibility by bringing in the realization of Himself.
- Many workers have gone out with high courage and fine impulses, but with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, and before long they are crushed.
That last thought hit home for me… with no intimate fellowship with Jesus. We will never know the what and why of our burdens unless we have that intimate relationship. It is part and parcel with the work He wants to do (and is doing) is us by His Spirit. But we will never be on board with His plan unless we are communing with Him. Chambers puts the issue in perspective:
- “Roll thy burden upon the Lord” – you have been bearing it all; deliberately put one end on the shoulders of God… The government shall be upon His shoulder. Commit to God what He has given to you, putting it over on Him and yourself and the burden is lightened by the sense of companionship. Never disassociate yourself from the burden.
And that’s the answer. We are never to say, well Lord this is too tough, you’ve got it and try to walk away! No, we are to ask Him to help us work through it. It all goes back to those critical verses from Paul that underpin what Chambers is saying:
Rom 8:28-29 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
And that is only possible if we are focused, first and foremost, on our relationship with Jesus. God has a purpose in causing or allowing everything in our life… everything! Only when we accept that fact, and only then, are we able to understand Chamber’s closing thought… Never disassociate yourself from the burden because the Lord will sustain us and never suffer us to be moved.
Good advice… just remember the first three words of verse 28…And we know!