Shouldering Your Burden

14 Jan

“Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them.”  ~ Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

I’m tough.  I’m self-sufficient.  I don’t need to ask anyone for help.  Asking for help is a sign of weakness.  If I cannot handle something, I’d best find a way to do so.

These, and all sorts of other similar phrases, we often tell ourselves.  Some of them have been put into our heads by our parents.  Others might have been planted there by teachers or other relatives.  While their intentions may have been good when they instructed us on those items, the after-effects might not have been so good.

There are times that we feel significantly overburdened.  If it has been ingrained in us that we cannot ask for help because that is a sign of weakness, we might just crumble under the weight of our burdens.

I have often said that we apply the thoughts and actions of our daily lives to our spiritual lives.  If we have convinced ourselves that we cannot ask for help, we might carry that over into our spiritual lives and refuse to ask God for help as well.  We might tell ourselves that asking God for assistance is wrong and a sign of weakness and, therefore, refuse to turn to Him when we need Him the most.

“Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them.”  Yes.  That is true.  However, the burden that we carry might not be for our shoulders; but, rather, for the Lord’s.  Jesus told His people to come to Him when they were burdened.  He told them that He would take their burden upon His shoulders.  Some of the burdens that we bear are more appropriate to be placed upon the Lord’s shoulders.  He is strong enough to take them and He willingly takes them to Himself.

Do not be afraid to ask God for help.  Ask Him for the grace to bear the burdens that you shoulder and, if the burden is too heavy for you, if it is crippling you, ask Him to take that burden to Himself.  He will do so out of His great love for you.

FAITH ACTION:  Ask God for the strength and you need to shoulder the burdens that you bear.