Releasing Our Burdens // Letting Go Of Fear And WorrySample

You are Not a World Carrier

It is easy for you to forget how much you need Me. All the distractions flood your mind, your heart, your space. It feels crowded then. No room for Me. No room for the things you carry, even. But you continue to load up the burdens, the tasks, the worries and concerns, the things to do. You take them as your own. 

Stop now, consider this. How does it feel? How does your mind, your heart, your body feel as you take on the burdens you were never meant to carry? So let’s pause here for a moment. Let me ask you a question. And I’d love for you to find an answer: Why is it that you want to carry these burdens on your own? Why is it that you feel it is your job to worry, your job to fret, your job to figure out one problem and then the next without asking Me for help? Without asking Me to help you surrender? Without asking Me to walk alongside you and carry your heart and give you my hand, and let Me take the burdens off of you one, by one? 

Instead, why do you delight in picking up more burdens, and carrying them around, your heart weary from the strain, your body exhausted from the worry, your mind over-stretched and overwhelmed from too many things?

You aren’t made for this, you know. This world is so turbulent, a world aching with pain. I know. My heart aches with every cry of hopelessness, every tormented whisper of wondering why . . . why is it that you must bear the weight of your very world.

So consider your answer . . And then let’s pause here. Let’s give you a new vocabulary. The world in which you live is laboring under weight it cannot bear. It cannot bear the weight of the pain, the weight of the suffering, the weight of the burdens it feels as a result of living life without me. And that is why this world is mine. You are the steward of it, yes, but I do not give it to you to steward on your own. What kind of Father would I be to give you a gift that gives you more pain than hope? What kind of Father would I be to give you a gift you are not able to take care of and enjoy and find joy in having? I give you the gift of this world—and the gift of making decisions as you live in it, because I am here, your Helper, available at all times, in all ways, to take each and every burden off of you, and to walk with you as you confront challenges and obstacles to freedom, hope, joy, light, good things. 

I am your good thing. I am your navigator. I am your shepherd. I am your weight-carrier. I am your good father who gives only good gifts. And so when you feel inclined to pick up that problem and make it your own, give it right back to Me. Let Me walk with you. Let Me help you know what step to take. Let Me guide you and carry it for you as we go together, loving this world, your world, one decision of trusting Me at a time.

Exercise:

We hear from the Holy Spirit that it’s not our job to worry, that it‘s not our part to play, not our role in the world and in God’s Kingdom to fret and stress about everything. And so all those things we worry about—having enough money, having enough security, being a good parent, fighting our addictions, releasing our idols, fighting illness and disease, eradicating evil and suffering, healing the environment, ending war—these things become like weights chained to our ankles. Because while it might be that we’re meant to work toward some of these things, we are never meant to carry anxiety about their outcomes. We aren’t built by God to carry those kinds of burdens. And we’re not able to, actually—not without adverse consequences.

But we try to, don’t we? We pick them up all the time, making ourselves prisoners, feeling like every care, every anxiety, is our responsibility. And we convince ourselves, in a strange way, that it’s all good: It feels like duty. I mean . . . we tell ourselves that the only responsible course is to sweat every problem, to worry about finding solutions to everything, to fret to fix every situation—situations that without us and our efforts, would clearly get out of control.

The fact is, though, our worry doesn’t change anything—not for the better anyway. Worry doesn’t fix. Worry doesn’t heal. Worry doesn’t solve. It just makes us weary. Frustrated. Overwhelmed. Maybe even sick. 

Ironically, we try to carry the burdens of the world in order to regain control—as a way to try to limit our pain and fear. But when we shoulder burdens that are not ours to carry—that are too heavy for us to carry as mere men and women—our pain and fear just increase. 

So, what do we do? Well, the Holy Spirit said this: “When you feel inclined to pick up that problem and make it your own, give it right back to Me.” He says He is our navigator, our shepherd, our weight-carrier. He asks us to walk with Him, and that He will tell us the steps to take. He asks us to let Him guide us, as He carries all of these burdens.

So what do we do? We simply give our worry to Him—we release it to one who is built to carry it.

“So here’s what I’ve learned through it all,” wrote King David in Psalm 55, “Leave all your cares and anxieties at the feet of the Lord, and measureless grace will strengthen you.”

What are you carrying? What’s become too heavy? What’s grinding you down?

Name them. One by one. And hand them over to Jesus. 

My finances. I give everything and everyone to you, Jesus.

My family. I give everything and everyone to you, Jesus.

My health. I give everything and everyone to you, Jesus.

My job. I give everything and everyone to you, Jesus.

My relationships. I give everything and everyone to you, Jesus.

My decisions. I give everything and everyone to you, Jesus.

This country. I give everything and everyone to you, Jesus.

The world. I give everything and everyone to you, Jesus.

Anything else? Anyone else? Give everything and everyone to Jesus.

I suggest doing this at least once a day. Several times a day is even better.

John Eldredge wrote, “If you want to make room in your soul for God, you have to let go of all the things that are currently filling your soul. You might be surprised by how much is filling your soul. So we give it all back to Him—we give everyone and everything back to Jesus.”

Trust Him with your circumstances. Trust Jesus with your problems. Trust Him with you.

Trust Jesus with the world.

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