Casting Our Burdens on the Lord
by adustyframe ~ July 6th, 2010Several months ago, a friend of mine asked “HOW do I give my burdens to the Lord?” She knew she should do it but didn’t know how.
I know that I suggested reading God’s word, prayer, listening to praise music. You know the usual!
That is all good advice and it definitely works.
When I pray about a burden, I pour out all my worries and cares and hurts to the Lord and ask him to help me. This often helps relieve much of the anxiety and weight of the burden.
I told her that giving the burden to the Lord is something she may have to do repeatedly. It’s not always a one time deal.
My dad used to say that when we give our burdens to the Lord we’re not supposed to take them back. We sure do though don’t we?
A few weeks ago, when we attended my brother’s church, the pastor spoke on this topic.
His wife is dealing with cancer and he shared what he’s learned. I think of our burdens and the burdens of people I know. I read about burdens on blogs. One thing is certain that each of us has something to deal with and God wants us to deal with it well.
This pastor said that casting our burdens on the Lord isn’t an easy 4 or5 step process. (Gotcha didn’t I? You thought I was going to give you an easy list to follow.)
He said rather than a list to follow, casting our burden on the Lord is “God’s servants getting on their face talking to God about it.”
He said we need to go to the word of God and learn from the examples of godly men and women in crisis in the Bible.
Observe them. What are they doing?
Elijah, David, Job, Jonah, Jesus–how did they handle their trial?
Get a notebook or blank book and write down your thoughts and observations as you read your Bible. Write down verses that speak to your heart and record your thoughts.
Pray and ask God what to do. Ask him to show you what to do with the burdens.
I pretend I’m throwing them (casting) to him and say, “Hey can you please take these for me?”
He wants to you know.
Psalms 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
July 6th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Good words, Lizzie! I don’t know what it is about writing down prayers and requests, but it seems to be so much more effective for me.
Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
I’m praying that you and Lee will have the most wonderful, amazing week!
July 6th, 2010 at 9:19 pm
Excellent reminders – sometimes we have to go back to Him every couple of minutes
July 7th, 2010 at 9:53 am
These are good thoughts, Lizzie. I would add that it is something we do by faith. We may not feel any different, though sometimes there is a sense of relief, at least for a while. Going over verses like you included as well as some that remind of us God’s power, ability, wisdom, etc. in dealing with things helps, too.
Once at a ladies retreat, the leader wanted us to write down something we wanted to give to the Lord — some burden, sin problem, etc. — and then she put all the notes in a little bag, attached them to a big bunch of helium balloons, and then we all went outside as she let them go, symbolizing giving those things to the Lord. I thought it was a little silly (and I wonder what the person who found that bag of notes thought…). But a few days later I was thinking of whatever it was I had written down, and was reminded, “No, I gave that to the Lord to deal with.” It did end up being a good visual reminder.
July 8th, 2010 at 10:47 am
I have often wondered too how to give a burden to the Lord. Just saying, “Lord, I give this to you” was not working for me. I read on another blog how the lady asked the Lord to handle something for her–to take care of it for her. The light went on–that is what giving our burden to the Lord is. It’s just asking Him to handle it for you. This has been a huge blessing in my thinking and praying.
December 13th, 2010 at 11:52 am
[...] I ago, I wrote about how to “cast your burdens on the Lord”. Today, I read something that seems to compliment those thoughts and I wanted to share them with [...]