Burden Is Light
/
“Come to me, all you who are tired and have heavy loads and I will give you rest….the load I give you to carry is light.” Matthew 11:28,30
This past week, I have officiated at two funerals, had two conversations with families about hospice, talked with a friend about the loss of her dog, supported a friend through an accident, counseled clients, made a hospital visit, numerous conversations, text messages and emails all related to ministry and the needs of others. Someone said to me at the end of the week, “You look tired.” While I am physically tired, my soul and spirit has been filled to overflowing with God’s love and presence. God has used me and given to me gifts of His Holy Spirit to share with others.
I spent hours with my friend, Tom, before he died helping him to process and release the burdens of this world. He was carrying the burden of fixing everyone’s life before he could leave this world. He came to the acceptance of his death and that he had no control on the people he was leaving. He did not need to make peace in the family. His life and legacy would be complete at his death, and it would not be influenced by what happened after he was gone. He told me two days before he died, “I have released it all.” We talked about the journey of death and when he was anxious, he would just say, “Jesus, I trust you.” He took the hand of Jesus until Jesus came to take him home to Heaven.
At the end of each conversation I had this week, I prayed with each person and for each situation. Prayer releases the heavy burden to God. It was not mine to carry nor fix every aspect of the situation. I was reminded of the words in my Grandma’s favorite hymn, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus” –
“O what peace we often forfeit
O what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Oh, the burdens of life we tend to carry that cause worry and anxiety to take control of our lives. Burdens are a part of life, but we were not meant to carry them alone. Life will have heavy loads of pain, sorrow, sadness, hurt, but when we share the load with God, it becomes lighter.
When I was ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church, the Bishop talked with all the soon to be ordained Elders at a breakfast the day of ordination. He said something like this – “When you are ordained tonight, you will feel the heaviness of the laying on of hands upon your head. This is the burden of ministry placed upon you. When the hands are lifted, you will feel the lightness, the release of the burden.” This was very powerful to me. I have taken this with me throughout my ministry. When I rely only on my own strength, knowledge, and ability, I feel the intense weight of everyone and everything. I think it is mine to fix and control. It is overwhelming. But when I go to God first and rely on His strength, the Holy Spirit that is within me and God’s leading, the burden is shared. God carries me through. God does not take away the burden but takes the heaviest load of it.
It is being willing to depend on God, to surrender control and humble ourselves knowing that we are not capable of handling it alone. It is sharing the burden with others, too. For example, the funeral of my friend, Tom, involved a law enforcement presence. There were hundreds of details and lots of people involved. I worked with the leadership of the Highway Patrol accepted their expertise and guidance, and together the service was a dignified celebration of life, and it glorified God. I shared the burden, and therefore the weight was lighter.
Jesus promises in Matthew 11:28 to carry the load and give us rest. When we release the burdens of our lives to God, the problem or situation may still be there, but we are not alone. The Holy Spirit brings peace in the storm and a presence to guide and direct our path. We can rest knowing we do not have to fix it or control it. God’s got it. Be like my friend, Tom, as he was dying said, “Jesus, I trust you.” Let’s trust Jesus and allow Jesus to carry the load.
My book – Live Different Moments, Living In The Different and Life Lessons of a Lone Trooper – Available on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Lessons-Lone-Trooper-Legacy/dp/0998310255/
https://www.amazon.com/Living-Different-passages-through-sorrow/dp/0998310239/
