Our Burdens Change Hands
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
—1 Peter 5:7 (KJV)
An old hymn of the church begins with, “I am weak, but Thou art strong.” I need to have that imprinted on a shirt and wear it every day of my life.
Over the years, I’ve heard friends say, “Gwinnetta, you are so strong.” There have been times when that was true. But there are other days—especially when trouble broadsides me—when I can become a sniveling, shivering mess. Weakness overcomes me and all I want to do is just give up. In fact, I experienced this feeling quite recently.
I am, at heart, an optimist. I try to look for the best in people. When I believe in someone—and especially when I trust them—it takes a great deal for me to lose that trust. When that happens, it hurts more than it angers me.
Recently, I found myself facing a situation that left me feeling disappointed and betrayed. Promises I had trusted suddenly seemed uncertain. Because the situation involved the ministry God had entrusted to me, the disappointment quickly turned to worry and anger.
Within minutes, my mind was racing.
“What am I going to do now?”
Then I remembered something important.
This ministry wasn’t my idea. God planted it in my heart. He opened the doors. He has faithfully provided every step of the way. If it belongs to Him, then He is fully capable of protecting it and accomplishing His purpose through it.
Amid my angry thoughts, I heard a still, small voice whisper,
“Remember Max Lucado’s sermon on how to pray?”
His instructions were simple and required no long, drawn-out prayer.
I held out my hands, palms open in surrender, placing my burden into Someone else’s care.
I prayed: “Jesus, You are good.”
Those four words would have been enough, but I couldn’t stop there. My heart overflowed with gratitude as I thanked Him for who He is and for the countless ways He has been faithful throughout my life.
Then I lifted my open hands toward heaven and prayed,
“I place this burden, which is too heavy for me to carry, into Your capable hands. It’s Yours to handle now.”
As I let go of the burden and released it, peace settled over my troubled spirit. Why? Because I was convinced that the One who carried my burden could be trusted with the outcome.
The circumstances that had caused my anxiety hadn’t changed. So, what was different?
I was no longer carrying the burden—it had changed hands. Peace had replaced the anxiety.
For the first time that day, I wasn’t carrying it anymore.
Then I remembered. This was not the first time my Shepherd had done this. Time after time, He had solved problems I couldn’t solve and opened doors I didn’t even know existed.
Oh, I sometimes offered Him plenty of suggestions. I was certain my solutions would work. Strangely enough, He almost never used them.
His ways are always better than mine. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8, KJV).
After walking with Him for so many years, I have learned something. Whenever He takes over, the ending is always better than I could have imagined.
That is why I was able to release this burden into my Shepherd’s hands.
The enemy would love nothing more than to discourage me and hinder the work God has called me to do. To slow me down with the weight of all my troubles.
But the enemy has never had the final word.
Joseph lived that truth. As he looked back over thirty years of suffering which began with the betrayal of his brothers– sold into slavery, falsely accused, imprisoned, and seemingly forgotten—he could finally declare to them…
“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good…”
—Genesis 50:20 (KJV)
Today, I make that declaration my own.
I don’t yet know how God will resolve this situation, but I know He is more than able to take what the enemy intends for harm and use it for His glory.
I smiled.
The enemy may have thought he had gained the upper hand. He hadn’t.
Hebrews tells us that faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
For years I read those words without stopping to think about that remarkable phrase:
“…the evidence of things not seen.”
Then it struck me.
My evidence isn’t that I already know how this situation will end.
My evidence is a lifetime of watching my Shepherd faithfully lead me through one impossible situation after another.
I may not yet see today’s answer, but I have decades of proof that He knows exactly what He is doing.
As I reflected on all of this, I realized how differently the world and the believer understand the word surrender.
To many, “surrender” carries the image of defeat. We picture a white flag waving after the battle has been lost. Giving up. Retreat. Admitting the fight was a hopeless one.
But the Christian’s surrender is altogether different. We are not surrendering to the enemy. We are surrendering to the Lord and placing the battle into the hands of the One who has never lost. It is why we raise our hands in praise and worship.
Giving up is surrendering to despair. It says, “There is no hope.”
Letting go is surrendering to God. It says, “My hope no longer depends on me. It’s in my Shepherd.”
I am convinced that one day this present struggle will become another testimony of His faithfulness.
I proclaim – Hide and Watch!!
Closing Blessing
If you’re carrying a burden that feels too heavy today, I pray you’ll discover what I rediscovered—that peace doesn’t always come when the problem is solved. Sometimes it comes the moment we relinquish it and hold faith in its place.
May your Shepherd carry what you never were meant to bear. May you discover the peace that comes not when your circumstances change, but when your burdens change hands. And may your confidence grow as you remember His faithfulness in every season of your life.
Thank you for spending a few moments with me today. My prayer is that you will discover the peace that comes from placing your life, one day at a time, into the hands of the Good Shepherd. If this post encouraged you, I invite you to share it with someone who may need the same reminder.
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Link: heorderedmysteps.com