Lifting The Burden

Lifting The Burden

A mother watched as her small child struggled to carry a heavy box across the room. “Be careful,” she said to the little one. Accidents can easily happen, and she did not want her child to fall while carrying such a load.

All of us recognize the need to be careful. It is wise to think ahead in order to avoid a possible accident. To be full of cares, however, is something completely different! Martha was “careful” (Lk. 10:41 KJV) in the sense that she was full of cares. We could coin the expression “care-full” to describe her. The Lord Jesus gently chided her because she was not displaying the beauty of an unburdened life.

As He walked along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, the risen Lord met two disciples whose faces were sad. Something was troubling them, and He encouraged them to tell Him what caused them to be sad (Lk. 24:17). Many people today are just the same. They are burdened in their “walk” through this world, and their faces are sad. There are a number of reasons why one’s heart may be troubled, and a few careful questions can often bring the source of the problem to the surface. It is interesting to discover that the Bible identifies a number of different burdens.

FIVE REAL BURDENS

1. Physical Suffering. In a synagogue one Sabbath day, the Lord Jesus met a woman with a bent back. She had been afflicted in this way for eighteen years and was unable to stand straight (Lk. 13:11). She had found no remedy and no relief for her condition. Her physical disability caused her to stoop forward, and permanently forced her to look down. What a picture of a burdened soul! Today we can encounter many similar cases of suffering. Some people are confined to their homes or cannot leave their beds. Others are unable to get around without a wheelchair. In hospital wards we come across those who are enduring terminal illnesses. Like the woman in the synagogue, they are suffering physically, and many are burdened by their condition.

2. Difficult Environment. For other people, the burden is directly related to their environment. The people of Israel, living under the tyranny of cruel taskmasters in Egypt, were afflicted (Ex. 1:11). As Moses grew up, he became aware of the slavery of his own people “and looked on their burdens” (Ex. 2:11). Similarly today, our surroundings can cause us to be burdened. Millions still live under an oppressive regime and are denied religious freedom and proper justice. A domestic situation can also bring its own problems when tensions develop in the home. Daily responsibilities can weigh us down. A cruel husband, a complaining wife, the constant care of a sick relative, or even a handicapped child can cause an individual to become burdened.

3. Responsibility. In later years Moses himself experienced the burden of responsibility. On one occasion he complained to the Lord that he could no longer cope. As leader of the Israelites, he felt that “the burden of all this people” was more than he could bear (Num. 11:11). Leadership does bring tremendous responsibilities, and Moses is not the only one to have discovered that there is a price to pay for being “at the top.” Many today either have taken time off work or have given up working altogether because of stress. The strain of leadership has brought them to the point where they have said, “I can’t cope any longer.” Stress can easily develop in the workplace and can result in a breakdown that’s either physical, mental, or both.

4. Yourself. Another individual who carried a burden was Job: “I am a burden to myself,” he complained (Job 7:20). Surely, we pity this poor man! When he lay down he could not sleep, and when sleep eventually did come he was troubled by nightmares (Job 7:4,14). Job, like Paul, considered that he was a “wretched man” (Rom. 7:24). Have you ever reached that same conclusion? Can you recall a time when you were so disappointed by your behavior that you asked yourself, “Why did I do that?” Sometimes we find it difficult to understand ourselves and, like Job, feel that self is a burden.

5. Sin. In David’s case, the burden was different. He was troubled by his sin: “For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me ... I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly” (Ps. 38:4,6). Sin can certainly be a burden as we think of what we have done in the past. Our failings and shameful behavior can cause us deep regret.

TWO BIG BURDENS

The Israelites and each individual that we have considered felt weighed down by a heavy burden. In His mercy, God has provided a solution that can meet the need of every one of these situations. Whatever the burden may be, the remedy is the same. The Scriptures tell us: “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee” (Ps. 55:22). The five real burdens that we have just examined, can be grouped into two big burdens.

1. The Big Burden Of Iniquity. The first burden that must be dealt with is the last mentioned above, the burden of iniquity, or sin. Like David in Psalm 38:4, we must admit that our sins are too heavy for us to carry. Whether we realize it or not, our iniquities are a heavy weight upon our souls. Eventually the burden of sin will drag us down to hell. It is vital, therefore, that this burden should be removed. At the cross, Jesus died for us sinners and took the punishment that we deserved. Alone in the darkness, He suffered the righteous wrath of a holy God against sin. We must acknowledge our sin, repent of it, and ask Him to forgive us. When we do that, God removes sin’s burden from our soul. He casts all our sins into the depths of the sea, never to be discovered again (Mic. 7:19).

To understand the removal of that burden, think again of the bent-over woman in the synagogue. When the Lord met her, He laid His hands on her and made her straight. At once, she glorified God for what He had done (Lk. 13:10-13). Something very similar happens to the soul who finds salvation in Christ. When He removes the burden of iniquity, our crooked lives are made straight and we are able to glorify God. Have you brought the burden of your iniquity to Him and experienced His deliverance?

2. The Big Burden Of Anxiety. The other four burdens that we mentioned – physical suffering, a difficult environment, the stress of responsibility, and one’s own self – can lead us to experience the big burden of anxiety. Martha was an anxious soul, “worried and troubled about many things” (Lk. 10:41 NKJV). Being “distracted with much serving,” she asked Jesus whether He cared (Lk. 10:40). Of course He did! Martha was unnecessarily “careful.” Very simply, she needed to unload her cares. We must do the same, “casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (1 Pet. 5:7 KJV). It is interesting to discover that Peter’s word translated “care” in this verse is very similar to the word “careful” which the Lord used to describe Martha. All of those cares must be placed upon Him, because He cares. How beautiful and reassuring are the well-known words of Joseph Scriven’s much-loved hymn: “What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!”

A man carrying a heavy pack on his back was offered a lift by the driver of a wagon. The weary man gratefully accepted, but when the driver looked back in the wagon some time later the man still had the pack on his back! We can be just like that man when we fail to give our burden to the Lord. He invites us to cast all our anxieties and cares upon Him: “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee” (Ps. 55:22).

THREE RESPONSIBILITIES

1. To Wear Christ’s Yoke. Jesus said, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Mt. 11:28-30). At first this may seem strange. We have been invited to cast our burden upon the Lord, and now we find the Savior referring to a “burden” that we must bear! The Greek word for burden (phortion) used by the Lord is significant. It refers to something carried, but there is no thought in the word of any weight. Since Bible times, animals might be yoked together for work in the fields. The Lord used this same figure here. We are “yoked” to Him for fellowship and service, but He gives us no weight to carry. His “burden is light” because He walks with us and takes the strain!

2. To Bear Others’ Burdens. Paul writes, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). A different Greek word for “burden” (baros) is used in this verse. It means something heavy that presses on the individual. People are carrying heavy burdens through life and need help. As members of the body of Christ, our responsibility is to support them by sharing the weight of their problem. Do you know somebody who is burdened? Perhaps they have anxieties about their loved ones or about their health. Fear of the future may be weighing them down. Can you spend time with them and pray with them? The heavy weight could be lessened by your help.

3. To Break Sin’s Chains. In Isaiah 58:6, God calls upon His people “to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and ... break every yoke.” The Lord was displeased with His people. Although they were fasting and performing religious duties, their hearts were far from Him. Their actions displayed little love for Him. Instead of an outward show of religion, God called them to “undo the heavy burdens, and ... let the oppressed go free.” There is an application for us here. Many souls are weighed down with sin. By presenting to them the good news that their burden can be undone, and by the work of the Holy Spirit, we can “let the oppressed go free.”

JUST IMAGINED!

There is an old legend about a man who was walking along the road carrying a heavy sack. An angel met him and asked the man what the sack contained. “My worries,” he said with a sigh. The angel asked if he could see them. Struggling under its weight, the man lowered the heavy sack and opened it. But there was nothing inside! When the angel questioned him, he realized that he had been worrying about yesterday, but what was the point? Yesterday had passed! He had also been worrying about tomorrow, but it had not yet come. The man realized that he no longer needed his sack, so he promptly threw it away.

Although only a legend, it carries an important lesson for us. So much energy can be wasted worrying about unnecessary things. In the hymn, “What a Friend we have in Jesus” Joseph Scriven stated, “Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!” How true! Jesus told us not to fill our lives with anxious thoughts but to trust our Heavenly Father day by day (Mt. 6:25-26,32).

Praise God that there is a remedy for our burdens! The Lord loves us dearly and wants us to cast them all upon Him. Let’s do it! And let’s look for those weighed down with burdens, and help ease their heavy load.

By Martin Girard