“I lifted the burden from your shoulder.” Psalm 81:6

“Throw Pillows”

I was recently praying and talking to the Lord about some things that are heavy on my heart. The Lord’s help and grace is there for me each day, but some things weigh on my spirit—like seeing Floyd suffer. As I was praying, the Lord reminded me of the gift He’s given to His children of being able to “cast their burdens” on Him.

God never intended for us to carry the weight of our burdens around with us all the time. He provided for us, made a way for us, to be able to give them to Him so that we aren’t weighed down with the cares of life.

Many years ago I was walking in relationship with someone. We were very different from each other. We had some tensions and misunderstandings. Occasionally some things were said that were hurtful. Rather than dealing with them, my response was to put those hurts in an invisible sack that I carried around with me. I thought I could just deal with it myself.

One day the load from that invisible sack just got too heavy, and the bag burst open in a conversation we were having. Everything came rushing out all at once. I should have never been carrying all that hurt around. I should have been dealing with it each time something happened. We sorted things out, but it wasn’t easy.

The Lord doesn’t want us to carry our burdens around with us in some invisible sack. He wants us to “cast” them onto His capable shoulders to carry. If I had done what I did earlier in my life with the burdens of this journey I’m on, I think I would be destroyed by now. I’m so thankful that I can give the burdens of this journey to Him. He is able to deal with them for me.

During another season in my life I was “casting” some burdens on the Lord, but it seemed like during the day I kept taking them back. One morning during my quiet time I took a throw pillow and threw it across the room. I said to the Lord, “I’m giving You this burden…I’m throwing it onto Your shoulders, and I’m not taking it back.” That physical symbolism of throwing the pillow was a constant reminder to me then, when I was tempted to take the burden back, that I had given it to the Lord.

I’m giving these current burdens to the Lord…and I’m going to try my best to leave them at the foot of the cross where they belong. I haven’t thrown a pillow yet, but I will if I need to.

“Lord, thank You for carrying our burdens on this journey. Help us each day to give the weights and burdens to You. You are so faithful! Amen.”