|

Giving Your Burdens to the Lord and Sunday Grace Notes

If you are carrying that heavy weight, think about giving your burdens to the Lord with this simple action.

There are times when the weight of the world falls on our shoulders.

It took us living in the desert for me to finally practice how to give all my worries to God.

Giving Your Burden to the Lord

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

So what does that really mean?

And why is it so difficult to do?

I find myself turning to God for the same problem again and again.

Giving Him all my worries, concerns, anxieties, only to find that I’ve grabbed them right back.

So when you find yourself consumed with worry, sadness, anger, or whatever issue you are facing, here are some practical tips that I found have helped me.

Turn to His Word.

In Psalm 119, David proclaims that God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.

I love what Charles Spurgeon said about this verse in his bible commentary:

God’s Word is full of brilliance; it is always giving out its blessed light. It casts a light upon all our daily life. It is a light for the house, and a light for the way, and happy is the man who never walks abroad without this lantern to light up his pathway. 

Charles Spurgeon

When burdens are heavy, we find peace and comfort in the promises of His scripture.

Just a few months ago, as I sat in the waiting room while Trent underwent open heart surgery; my mind was racing.

I couldn’t think straight or concentrate on anything.

Yet I picked up the Bible. And then set it down.

It seemed I repeated this process a dozen times, and each time, I flipped randomly to find comfort.

And every time, I found comfort from each page.

When Jesus talks about giving your burdens to Him and He will give you rest in Matthew 11, our hope is based on who He is.

We can come to Him with any problem in prayer.

And while the burden may still exist, our souls will find rest as we trust in Him to help us endure this burden and to sustain us through the trial.

Remember how He has sustained you in the past.

In Psalm 55, we are encouraged to

“Cast your burden on the Lord,
    and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved.”

Sustain – that’s an odd word.

But when you look up for words to replace sustain, you’ll find assist, comfort, help, encourage, support, or carry.

If we look hard enough, we can find blessings in even the smallest of details.

The warmth of sun on our skin.

The laughter of children.

How a dog greets you when you come home as if you are the best thing in his world.

So if we can find joy and blessings in tiny moments like these, we can look to larger blessings that we know come from Him.

A call from a friend.

A long lunch with a loved one.

Being moved in worship before a sermon.

When times are dark and the road seems rough, cling to those times when you’ve been overwhelmed with a blessing of some kind.

Put it into practice with action.

Following our music careers, there was a 7 year span when we lived on the outskirts of Vegas.

It was a difficult time.

Not only were we in a physical desert, but it literally felt like a season of the desert in our lives.

We were far apart from loved ones.

And my father was battling a secondary cancer that showed up after being in remission for over 10 years.

I felt so alone, but tried to stay joyful for our boys since they were so young.

Since our neighborhood backed up to a national park, I often would take walks on the community paths that meandered next to the desert.

At the start of each walk, I found find a small rock to carry, which there was an abundance of everywhere you looked.

I would walk and pray and cling tightly to that rock, as if I could transfer all my worries into that small stone.

There was a part of the path that peaked and overlooked this beautiful spot of the desert.

I would always stop at that spot and throw that rock as hard as I could.

I threw that rock as a picture of me giving that worry over to the Lord, throwing it where thousands of other rocks were scattered on the desert floor.

That simple action helped me when those worries, fears and anxieties crept back into my mind.

I would remember that I gave that worry to the Lord.

There was no way I could ever find that exact rock I threw amongst all of the others.

That I couldn’t go back and pick that burden back up.

Since we no longer live in the desert, I try to find something else to model that same action.

Maybe tossing a pebble into a pond.

Blowing a dandelion and watching the seeds catch the wind and fly away.

Even a blade of grass would be hard to find if you dropped it.

I had a friend who would write her worries on a sheet of paper and shred it.

Create a tangible picture that represents you truly giving your burdens unto our gracious Lord.

And guess what – it won’t work all the time.

I can’t tell you how many rocks I threw with the same prayer again and again.

But that act of physical relief and trust sustained me, even if only for a moment.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Phil 4:6-7

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

2 Comments

  1. Hi Carol,

    I am so glad you reached out and shared such kind words! My father passed in 2020 and my own mother (who is 72) was the caregiver for him for 25 years as he battled cancer. All that to say, it sounds like the journey you had wasn’t easy like my mom’s, but as she says, she wouldn’t trade it for anything! Be gentle with yourself as you sort through his things. Some days may be easier than others and it’s okay to push pause and come back if it becomes overwhelming. One thing that gave my momma peace was giving my dad’s things to his friends who not only needed them or could use them, but would also cherish having something of his.

    Our Savior is so gracious and it gives me peace that you know you are never truly alone.

    Thank you for taking the time to comment and reach out anytime! I will be praying for the weeks ahead with going through the belongings.

  2. Your Sunday thoughts are so touching and what I need. I have lived alone for almost 2 years. If it wasn’t for my faith in God and prayer I don’t know what I would do. All of the ladies I was friends with are gone. That is what happens when you get to 88. I don’t get lonely but sometimes I would like a lady friend. My husband died last April. He had suffered for 20 years and he did have

    a peaceful death. I kept up the house, mowed 4 acres, had a few flower beds and dropped in bed at night. Now I am going thru all my husband’s belongings and getting ready to call some one to add his things some one’s things.