Let That Burden Go!

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." 1 Peter 5:6, 7

Sometimes when I close my eyes to rest at night, my mind refuses to turn off. Do you relate to that? I say with a smile that I hope it’s not just me!  I can’t stop thinking about what events I should have handled better that day – opportunities missed to share the Gospel - tasks to complete the following day - stressors of different varieties, family matters, business dynamics, and so forth. My mind just won’t turn off. Often if I’m in that “cycle” of not resting, I get up and go over to my Bible, hoping (expecting) to find some nugget of truth to ease my mind. I have always found reliability in God’s Word. It’s one source of communication with our heavenly Father that never fails!

 I turned to the Scripture this afternoon after I spoke with a sweet lady whose college age son died unexpectedly a few months ago. The news was devastating. I was quite blessed and humbled by her ability to smile and offer me a return hug without breaking down. She demonstrated, and is, a wonderful example of GRACE. Tears came to my eyes as I read the following verse in Psalm 55:22 “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

The past several weeks, the Lord had been speaking to me about casting my burdens or cares upon Him--now today I encountered that theme again! Don’t we just feel “small” sometimes after hearing someone else’s hurt and pain?? I know I sure do. Suddenly, I knew from talking to this grieving mom, that I needed to stop worrying so much about all MY adversities. Life Moment: It’s healthy to be “sick of self” sometimes! We should think less and less of ourselves, and MORE of Him!

 I need to hand over my burdens to HIM – you do too, friend! All my worry about different situations and what will happen if the worst outcome comes to fruition...Let them go!

If and when I mess up, He is big enough to handle it! I don’t need to carry the burden. If I’m being brutally honest, I’m a natural ‘worrier.’ This goes against my faith. This goes against our Christian beliefs! I’m embarrassed by it. Although, I do seem to have a natural knack for attracting stress like a magnet!

Worries/cares come in all sorts of different volumes and shapes. A book I read said it this way..."If we’re not self-aware, and spiritually aware, we can worry and “overly care” about all the things we need to do, what we've said or done, overly taxed about other people, stressed about our health, and the list goes on and on." At the time, the weight on our shoulders can seem heavier than anything else in the entire world could possibly be!

But whatever our care might be, we weren't meant to carry it! We were meant to cast it. It's actually prideful of us to consistently worry and carry our cares when God tells us to cast them. God cares perfectly for each one of us. Our Father urges us to humble ourselves--admit our inability--and cast every worry, burden, and care upon HIM.

Try it! You’ll feel lighter when you close your eyes tonight…

Look UP my friends!