Laying Down Life’s Loads - Christina Wooten

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. Psalm 55:22 KJV

I grunted in pain as I lifted my backpack onto my shoulders. My back folded like a tortilla under the weight. The bag seemed to get heavier each day. When I’m as hunched as Quasimodo in twenty or thirty years, I’ll know what to blame it on.

But sometimes, the weight on my back is even less than the weight I carry in my heart. It’s easy for me to allow worry to creep into my life. I forget to release my anxiety, just as I forget to clear out my backpack. This weight could cause problems that may last the rest of my life. But for whatever reason, I refuse to release my burdens.

The psalmist tells us to lay our burdens on the Lord. However, I don’t always believe God can handle the weight.

When my boyfriend first offered to carry my backpack, I hesitated. What if he drops it? I thought. What if he isn’t careful with my stuff?

These concerns were ridiculous. My boyfriend is stronger than I am and can easily handle my backpack. By questioning his abilities, I demonstrated that I didn’t trust his strength—only my own.

Unfortunately, my backpack is not the only weight I hesitate to lay down. Jesus beckons me to give him my stress and worries, but I don’t trust him sometimes. What if he doesn’t care about my problems? What if my burdens aren’t important to him?

Yet, God is strong enough to handle our difficulties. He takes care of our burdens as though they were his own. God won’t let go of them, just as he won’t let go of us. If we give our troubles to Christ, we show the world that we trust him.

We don’t have to cling to our loads. Instead, we can relinquish them to the One who is stronger than we are. Our burdens may be heavy, but his burden is light.

When you feel you don’t have the strength to stand under the weight of life’s problems, allow the Lord to carry your burdens.

Father, I give my burdens to you.

 

Christina Wooten is a college senior studying Performance and Professional Writing. Her love for language and acting has impassioned her to serve God with her words. In her spare time, she also enjoys singing and crocheting. She hopes to continue to write professionally after graduation.

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