Spiritual First Aid
“Bearing Life’s Burdens”
Burdens are a part of life. We all have our burdens to bear, no matter whether we’re rich or poor, young or old, the color of our skin, or whether we are saved or lost. Sorrow and trouble come alike to everyone, because burdens respect no one. Life places burdens on all of us: sorrow, tragedy, affliction, loss, disappointment, and death are all common realities.
Just as the sun rises on both evil and good, and the rain falls on both the just and unjust, Matthew 5:45, so burdens affects us all.
Burdens come in a large variety, some less intrusive while others literally take our breath away.
Webster’s defines a burden as something that is carried, which is usually heavy, but the weight is more a figure of speech, because of the emotional toll it produces which can be quite weighty, such as bearing the burden of a death, disability, sickness, disease, debt, and guilt to name a few.
Trying to find relief, people have been going about it the wrong way. They try self-medication that usually leads to addictions. They also turn to self-help books, gurus, and seminars that tend to exasperate the burden making it heavier to bear when all their methodologies fail. They tend to add additional burdens including guilt, shame, and financial.
In all these methods there is a common thread, it’s the word, “self.” We think we can do it on our own, that we don’t need anyone, not even God. But this sort of thinking only adds to the weight of an already heavy load.
If this is indeed the case, then how can we successfully bear life’s burdens?
Let me give this piece of comfort before we begin. God promises both rest and joy through the burdens of life.
“For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.” (Jeremiah 31:25 NLT)
There is an interesting story in the Bible. It’s about a woman who had a physical burden, an infirmity for 18 years.
“Now He (Jesus) was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.” (Luke 13:10-11 NKJV)
Because she was so bent over and unable to raise up, some think that this woman had osteoporosis that produces a weakness within the body’s bones structure, which is often seen in those who walk hunched over. This very well may be the cause, and it is quite a burden to bear.
But in what Luke the physician describes, it may be related to an emotional or spiritual problem. Notice he calls it the “spirit of infirmity.” A spirit may have disabled this woman, and being too great to bear, she continued to walk with her eyes downcast, which after 18 years would have made this into a permanent physical condition.
This idea of it being a spiritual condition with physical consequences could also be attributed to the Apostle Paul who described his malady, his infirmity as “a thorn in the flesh … a messenger of Satan.” (2 Corinthians 12:7)
It would seem that this thorn, being metaphorical, could have been almost anything. Some of the more popular theories include a temptation, a chronic eye problem, malaria, or Alexander the coppersmith who did Paul great harm, 2 Timothy 4:14.
In short, burdens weigh us down including physical, emotional, spiritual, or a combination thereof. In other words the physical problem may be the result of an emotional or spiritual condition.
Let me just say that the heaviest of all burdens is sin.
This was actually Job’s question to God due to his physical state. He asked God, “Have I sinned? What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, so that I am a burden to myself?” (Job 7:20 NKJV)
Now, I’m not one to go around saying that the reason someone is sick is because of sin. That is one of those things that brings more harm and adds more burdens than most anything else. But to say that sin doesn’t play into our sickness is also doing harm.
This was something King David knew well.
“O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! For Your arrows pierce me deeply, and Your hand presses me down. There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, nor any health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness. I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are full of inflammation, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.” (Psalm 38:1-8 NKJV)
We see this also in Zechariah’s vision of the high priest, Joshua, standing before the Angel of the Lord, which is a what is know as a Theophany, or the physical manifestation of the Lord, or what we would call the preincarnate appearance of Jesus Christ, Zechariah 3:1-5.
We see in this vision Satan accusing Joshua, and we see Joshua clothed in filthy garments, which is a sign of sin, which is seen in what Isaiah said concerning himself saying how his righteousness was like filthy rags, Isaiah 64:6.
Besides burdens being spiritual, as in our sins, or being physical or emotional, there is one more burden, and these are God given. These are burdens in connection with the Lord’s work and ministry.
Besides his own physical burden, and those burdens he suffered because of being persecuted for his faith and ministry, Paul said, “Besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.” (2 Corinthians 12:28 NKJV)
Paul had a God given burden, much as the prophets of old who were given messages from God. We see this in several of their statements saying, “The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel.” (Zechariah 12:1, Malachi 1:1)
Now, in the Bible it tells us to consider the ways and wisdom of the ant, Proverbs 6:6.
I am told a story of a biologist who was studying ants. One day he saw an ant carrying a piece of straw much larger than itself. When the ant came to a crack that was too wide to cross with the piece of straw, the ant then laid the piece of straw across the crack and proceeded to walk across it. The ant then picked the straw back up and continued on its way.
The ant turned its burden into a bridge, which is exactly what the Lord wants for us to do. He wants us to take these burdens and turn them into bridges for greater spiritual maturity.
God’s Prescription for Burdens
These burdens are just that, burdensome, and they often times become too heavy for us to bear. There are, however, several things we can do that can help us carry and even remove these burdens from our lives.
And the prescription starts and stops with the Lord. We must trust in process He has set in place. We must trust that God is able and capable not only to carry our burdens but to give us rest and relief in the process.
Sensitivity to Sin
Every Christian has, so to speak, an Achilles heel, which is sin. And Satan knows just where they are at and how to strike to bring us down. And it really isn’t that hard to find these sins, or to bring us down, and that’s because we are all prone to sin and our desires are consistently and constantly in rebellion against God and His law.
The Bible makes this more than clear saying that everyone has sinned and has fallen short of God’s holy and righteous standard for life, and that there is no one who is righteous enough to stand before a holy and righteous God, Romans 3:10, 23.
To counter the burden of sin we need to be sensitive to it in our lives.
We see this sensitivity in Nehemiah from the Old Testament. He didn’t shy away from lumping himself with everyone else. He said, “Hear the prayer of Your servant … (I) confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.” (Nehemiah 1:6 NKJV)
Nehemiah goes on to say, “We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.” (Nehemiah 1:7 NKJV)
Nehemiah doesn’t separate himself thinking, “If’s there sin, it’s their fault not mine. I didn’t do anything. That was back then, this is now. That was over there in Jerusalem, I am over here in Persia.”
Rather, Nehemiah realized he is just as guilty, and probably more so seeing that he didn’t even have the gumption to go back to Jerusalem with Ezra when he had the chance.
He recognized and was sensitive to His sin, and the burden now becomes His to bear.
So Nehemiah prays and confesses his sin so that He could be healed.
The Apostle John said, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NKJV)
Again I go back to King David who understood what it meant for sin to become a sickness and thus a burden in his life. And when David failed to acknowledge his sin and tried to hide it, he felt the burden of his sins way down into his bones, Psalm 32:3-4.
And so David gives us God’s prescription.
“I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” (Psalm 32:5 NKJV)
Turn to Galatians 6:1-5
Now the next two prescriptions come from Paul’s letter to the Galatian church.
“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.” (Galatians 6:1-5 NKJV)
Receive Help from Others
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2 NKJV)
This part of the prescription is actually a twist from what Paul says, but perfectly fits with the passage, in that we are the ones in need of someone to come along side and help us carry the burden.
While it’s easy to come along side someone else and help them, we are hesitant to allow others to help us. This is usually due to pride and not wanting anyone else to know our problems, or that we even have any problems.
The word “burden” that is used here in the Greek language means something that is heavy and weighty, and is used more often figuratively than literally. It refers to the trials and tribulations, the problems and pressures that we all go through.
Most of the time these burdens are so heavy, and the emotional toll so great, we tend to buckle beneath their weight. And that’s understandable; we’re only human, which means we are frail and weak.
Within Christianity there is no such thing as being a Lone Ranger. I mean, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto, not to mention Hi-Ho Silver. We cannot live this Christian life in the way God has laid out without the help of other believers. We need others to help us carry the weight of these burdens. And this is the beauty of what God has called the church to be, a family where aid and even discipline are administered.
Now, others cannot bear the burden for us, but they can intercede and help lift up our hands and heart while we’re going though it.
And this is fits the “law of Christ” that Paul talks about.
What is the law of Christ? In a word it’s love. The law of Christ is the law of love. This is what Paul said earlier to the Galatian church.
“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:14 NKJV)
But since this is called the law of Christ, we should base our understanding on what Jesus said.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34 NKJV)
And so not only do we need to be sensitive recognizing the sin in our lives, but we need to allow others to help us carry the weight of these burdens so that the load doesn’t become too great and we become crushed under its weight.
But then Paul goes on to say something that seems completely contrary to what he just said about others coming alongside to help.
Bear Our Own Burden
“For each one shall bear his own load.” (Galatians 6:5 NKJV)
Here, the word for “load,” or in other versions, “burden,” is another Greek word meaning an invoice and figuratively refers to a task or service. This is the burden that God places upon our hearts and refers to our ministry and service to others on behalf of God.
When God called Paul into ministry in Damascus, Paul was totally unaware of what was in store for him, but he would soon find out.
The Lord said, “He is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15-16 NKJV)
Later when Paul tried to have the Lord remove the pain and suffering that came with this burden, God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9a NKJV)
It was then Paul said he could boast in his infirmity, his burden, because it was one given to Him by the Lord.
Paul knew that it was a burden no one else could carry, and that only he could bear it, because it was from his burden that his strength was derived.
It is what I refer to as “The Cross Life.”
Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23 NKJV)
These ministries are given to us by God and as such are non-transferable. No one else can carry our cross, and while they may come alongside to help, the responsibility to carry it is ours and ours alone.
And understand, the cross isn’t a form of inconvenience; rather it is painful and calls for our eventual death, death to self and our desires.
But God hasn’t left us alone, in fact He has given to us the Paraclete, which Jesus called both the helper and advocate. The word, “Paraclete,” is the Greek word that means one who is called to come alongside, and is used of the Holy Spirit that Jesus would send to every believer in Him.
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Paraclete), that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17 NKJV)
“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate (Paraclete) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7 NKJV)
The last part of God’s prescription for bearing life’s burdens is that of prayer.
Cast Our Burden Upon God
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22 NKJV)
To cast our burdens is to pray, because it is in prayer that we come into the very presence of God. The writer of Hebrews says that we can now come boldly before God’s throne of grace to receive mercy and help in our time of need, Hebrews 4:16.
That word “boldly” means with all speech, in other words, we come into the presence of God through prayer.
To cast means to hurl or throw, as in throwing something away.
What we need to do is to take whatever has got us down directly to Jesus, to cast it upon Him, because He is our great burden bearer. He said that when we are weighed down with the cares and burdens of life to come to Him, and He will give us rest, Matthew 11:28-30.
In our weakness He gives us His strength. To cast our burdens onto the Lord is then an act of faith saying, “While we can’t, He can.” And once we cast our burden upon Him we are to leave it there because He assumes full responsibility for it.
The Lord says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV)
It’s not God’s desire that we should be crushed beneath the weight of life’s burdens, but to loose and set us free. The Apostle Peter tells us to cast all our care upon the Lord, because He cares for us, 1 Peter 5:7.
It’s at this juncture that some of you might be tempted to check out, because the word “burden” in our passage might best be interpreted as a gift.
A more literal reading would be, “Cast upon the Lord what He has given.”
Since God has given us these burdens as His gifts, He has determined that it is in someway needful for us. It is something that He has determined is needed in our lives to grow us into His disciples. And so our burdens, whatever they may be, are His blessings for us.
And no matter what it may be, He will sustain us through them. When we cast our burden upon Him He will help us carry it. He doesn’t let us get out of our responsibility, but He strengthens us to handle it. And while He doesn’t always deliver us from the burden, He gives us the ability to endure and overcome.
And He does this by placing into our hearts and into our lives His gracious grace.
Conclusion
Remember our story about the woman who had been bent over due to a spiritual infirmity for 18 years? Now, look at the rest of the story.
“But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, ‘Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.’ And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.” (Luke 13:12-13 NKJV)
Given her burden, she was in the right place to have it taken care of.
When it says that Jesus saw her, it means that He saw beyond human sight and into her heart and soul. He saw her pain, her hurts, and whatever she was struggling with.
And to this he says, “Woman, you are loosed.”
In John 8:36 Jesus says, “If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.”
It is during these difficult times that there is the temptation to complain and fall into despair and depression, but don’t doubt God. Instead accept the burden as coming from the Lord and cast it back upon Him, because He cares for you.
Listen to the words of the classic hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”
Joseph Scriven wrote it. Twice the women he was going to marry died just prior to the wedding. He then dedicated his life to helping the poor. It was then he wrote a poem for his mother to bring her some spiritual comfort.
“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.
Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear!
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness. Take it to the Lord in prayer.”
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge. Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer.
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee. Thou wilt find a solace there.”
It doesn’t take long to realize that life is difficult, and that bad things happen. But we have a great Savior and burden bearer in Jesus, and the wonderful promise of the Holy Spirit to help us bear life’s burdens.
