Cast Burdens We Don’t Know We’re Carrying

God: Remember, I said to cast your burdens upon Me.

Me: But God, this isn’t a burden. I’m hurting!

God: Remember, I said to cast your burdens upon Me.

Me: Ummm….

This is pretty close to a conversation I had had with God. I had been hurt, pretty badly, by some circumstances, and was wrestling through the coming-to-the-other-side-of-it process. I mean, I knew there was another side. I could see how God could use this situation to deepen my faith and continue His shaping process in me so I could continue to accomplish the work He has for me. But there were still okay days and not okay days, some good times and some bad, as I struggled to put the hurt behind me.

Oh, I had forgiven. I wasn’t angry. And no, I wasn’t in denial either. In the middle of one of those not-so-good times, God whispered into my soul Remember, I said to cast your burdens upon Me.

I didn’t understand. I mean, I could see worry as a burden. Fear. Anxiety. Depression. Unforgiveness. Anger. But hurt because of something someone did? How was that a burden? Then He began to show me.

What happens inside you when you begin to feel the hurt? Hmmm…I get overwhelmed. I get sad. I lose pep. I get tired. Actually, it DRAINS THE LIFE OUT OF ME!

BAM! That was the revelation hitting me. Hard. HURT REALLY WAS A BURDEN! A burden that wasn’t from my Father! See, when God asks us to carry something, even if it’s weighty, there’s life in it, there’s fulfillment. But hurt? There’s no life. There’s no fulfillment. If anything, when the hurt got really big, it got harder to focus on the things God wanted me to focus on. Sure, the hurt was real. Sure, the hurt was legitimate, if I explained the situation in detail (which I won’t), I’m pretty certain almost anyone would understand why I was hurt and wouldn’t blame me.

According to human wisdom, I was free to carry this hurt! I could own it! I could hold it up like a trophy and everyone would feel bad with me and for me. The problem with that is carrying the hurt wasn’t free. It came at a cost. And who would want to own something that drains the life out of them like a parasite? And hold it up like a trophy? Well, I suppose people would see it and feel bad for me, give me a few pats and head shakes, but ultimately, they’ll move on. But if I’m still stuck holding onto my “trophy,” then I haven’t. I’m stuck. That’s when I made a decision.

TAKE IT, GOD! I CAST IT UPON YOU! TAKE THE BURDEN! TAKE THE HURT! Tears flowed as I cried out before the Lord and let it go. I closed my eyes and imagined myself taking it off like a heavy backpack, holding it in my hands, and dropping it at His feet.

Freedom! I had a taste of it. I decided I didn’t just want to drop it anymore. I wanted to throw it, throw it far away, and throw it into His loving arms. So I did. I picked up that heavy burden of hurt and threw it as hard as I could. He can take it. My Father is big enough, powerful enough, and loving enough; He can take that burden.  He can take what I can’t—or shouldn’t—carry.

Remember, I said to cast your burdens upon Me. Yes, Father! Yes, let’s cast our burdens upon Him. All of them. The ones we know about and the ones we don’t. We can pray for Him to open our eyes to burdens we don’t recognize as burdens because if we don’t, the freedom HE PAID FOR US TO HAVE will remain elusive to us. Jesus paid such a high price for our freedom—freedom from sin AND from burdens—don’t you want to live in it? I know I do. Let’s take those heavy, not-from-God packs off our backs and THROW THEM AS HARD AS WE CAN into His love and let His love fill us, lift us, and free us.