In the morning, before you toss your covers aside and place your feet on the floor, is there a heaviness begging you to stay put? At the close of the day, do you empty your arms of the load you have been carrying, wondering how you will pick it back up again tomorrow?
At times, we all carry the weight of a burden too heavy for us to bear: the diagnosis, the difficult relationship, the long season of waiting, the sting of loss and grief, the raising of children in a broken world, and the juggling of the many responsibilities we feel we must carry on our own.
Some days, we may even feel like the weight is being piled on, pound by pound. Are your arms feeling wobbly today?
Heavy seasons test my faith because they require my faith to move from my mouth to my feet. Will I walk out the faith I always talk about? Do I really believe the Lord will sustain me when I cast my burdens on Him (Psalm 55:22)? Am I willing to humble myself under God’s mighty hand and cast every anxiety on Him because He cares for me (1 Peter 5:6-7)? Or, do I try and control and carry all the things?
Casting our cares on the Lord does not mean we stop caring. It means we let Him carry the weight by trusting Him to take control.
When I am tempted to carry my burdens all by myself, it helps to ask:
- Am I Abiding?
Abide means to accept or act in accordance with; to bear patiently; to wait for; or to continue in place. Abiding does not mean we sit paralyzed. Rather, we actively submit to God’s will by living according to His word despite how we feel. I wonder, can I honestly pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done (Matthew 6:10)?” What situation are you struggling to submit to God's will today?
2. Where am I placing my Hope?
When my hope is threatened, do I seek to strengthen it through God’s word or the glittery things of the world? When we hope in God’s word, it becomes effective ammunition to fight off the temptation to satisfy the cravings of our flesh when what we need most is spiritual nourishment (Psalm 119:11).
3. Will I trust God to provide?
Trusting God to provide is hard, especially when I grow weary in the waiting.
During their journey in the wilderness, God humbled the Israelites and let them hunger to feed them with manna so they would know, “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord (Deuteronomy 8:3).” Jesus also used this scripture as a weapon to fend off Satan’s temptation in the wilderness.
Sweet friend, when we are tempted to carry the weight of our burdens with our own two hands, may we proclaim: “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him (Lamentations 3:34).” God may not immediately change our difficult circumstance, but we can trust Him to satisfy our deepest longings with more of Himself. When we come to Him alone for fulfillment, He will give us exactly what we need to withstand even the heaviest of seasons.
Two Questions to Ponder:
What heavy burden will you entrust into God's faithful hands today?
What specific hope can you hold onto from God's word while you wait for resolution?
More Truth to Consider:
I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalm 130:5
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Thank you for your sweet words! They are so uplifting!
Thank you for reading and for your words of encouragement!