Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of our burden-bearing God. We stoop and stumble under burdens, but God is able to carry each one.
Psalm 68:19 reads this way in the KJV: “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.” Psalm 103 attests to the validity of this truth. There is some question, however, about this translation for this verse. Numerous words have been supplied by the translators, including “with benefits,” which is a logical explanation for the type of “burden” or “load” that God would daily place upon His children. While the verb can mean “to lay a load on,” the primary meaning is “to load, carry, carry a load.” In other words, it is quite possible that God is the one who is carrying the burden or load each day, rather than imposing one on us. This is in complete agreement with and support of the last part of the verse, which calls Him the God of our salvation. The translation would then be something like, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily carries our load, the God of our salvation.”
That is an encouraging thought – that each day, God is there to carry the burden. The Hebrew word for “day” appears twice in succession, day after day. This day and the one that follows. In addition to the constancy, it is wonderful that God is strong enough to carry any burden that we face. Psalm 55:22 expands to teach that not only can He carry any burden that we throw upon Him, but He can also hold us up and keep us from falling. “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
As I have considered these two verses, I have pondered some questions. First, do we have to cast our burden on God, or does He bear it more automatically and volitionally? 68:19 doesn’t say anything about needing to give Him the burdens, but simply states that He does carry them. I suspect there is an aspect of God’s compassion, lovingkindness, and mercy that impels Him to willingly help those who are in need. Many verses teach that He looks down from heaven and sees the most vulnerable and lovingly intervenes on their behalf.
55:22, on the other hand, does tell us to cast our burden on God, which is similar to I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Philippians 4:6-7 would also suggest an enormous benefit in deliberately bringing our burdens to God. So my second question is regarding how I do that. In practical terms, how do I cast my burden on God?
It's a valid question, because sometimes it is the sincere desire of my heart to have God carry the burden. I don’t want to carry it. I can’t carry it. But I seem completely incapable of getting it off my shoulders. Sometimes the burden is such a prominent and constant part of life that there is continual impact on me. I feel the crushing weight of it. Because the ramifications are constant, I feel the pressure in my body or on my mind or in my spirit.
In theory, I would say the answer to this second question is found in Philippians 4:6-7 or in Psalm 37:3 or Psalm 62:8. There seems to be an aspect to which we are to bring our burdens to God and “dump” them on Him. And somehow, we are supposed to be able to bring those burdens to God and leave them there. Our trust and reliance on Him bring incomprehensible peace. “Which passeth all understanding” means there are situations in which having peace doesn’t even make sense, but God can still do it.
In practice, this is so much harder to do. Maybe that is because some burdens have a physical, mental, emotional, or social side in addition to the spiritual. In other words, I can trust Him to heal (or not heal) a broken leg, but I still feel the pain. Or I can trust Him to give comfort in a loss, but still feel the sorrow. I can trust God for the outcome, but I still feel the weakness in my body.
The best answer I can come up with for this dilemma is that when the practical ramifications of the burden are frequent or constant, then I must frequently or constantly be bringing the burden to God. Every time I feel the weight of the burden, I have to ask for His help with it. I must confess my inadequacy – admitting that as much as I want to give it all over to Him, I seem incapable of doing so, and that I need His help to do that.
The challenge of this highlights how helpless I am, but it does not negate how powerful God is. So I guess if the best I can do is to tell God that I want to trust Him and that I want Him to carry the burden, then that is what I need to do. It is always God who empowers me for anything, so sometimes I just need to trust that He can do that, even when I don’t see it with my human eyes.
This is by no means intended to be a complete or authoritative answer to these questions. But I trust that the truth of God’s Word will bless your hearts, even as I have included some of my own musings that will perhaps also prompt your own consideration. Of one thing I am certain: God is able to carry any burden that we face.
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
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