We are weighed down – by expectations, by situations, by attitudes, by guilt, by life. It can get overwhelming, all those burdens. Sometimes I feel suffocated by them all. I know I’m supposed to “cast my cares” on Jesus. But how does one do that? 

I have been thinking through this lately, and I have come up
with some ideas.

First, I have realized that we have to define our burdens. I think there are two basic types, and each needs to be dealt with in a different way.

Burdens others place on us. These are burdens we didn’t choose, burdens dumped on us by sinful people or tragic circumstances. We deal with these by daily surrendering these burdens to Jesus – laying them down at his feet and asking Him to carry them for us.

Burdens we place on ourselves.  These are sins that we are hanging on to – anger and bitterness or guilt and shame. They are feelings we allow to weigh us down and keep us from walking in the Spirit and living the abundant life God has for us. We deal with these by seeking forgiveness – from God and then from others, if necessary. Then we accept God’s forgiveness, fully and gratefully.

So once we’ve done that, once we’ve laid our burdens at Jesus’ feet, once we have sought forgiveness…is that all? Well, yes and no. Yes, that’s all it takes. Jesus doesn’t make us earn forgiveness or work to be relieved of our burdens. He takes them freely.

But there is something we need to do – renew our minds. How much time do we spend thinking about how we’ve been burdened? I know I can spend countless hours thinking angrily about how others have hurt me. I can spend days worrying about circumstances that I have no control over. I don’t even know how much time I have spent justifying my sins. Far too much, that’s for sure! So, when I have laid my burdens at Jesus’ feet, I need to replace all that wrong thinking with right thinking. I need to meditate on God’s word, I need to pray, listen to praise music, anything that will remind me of who Jesus is and why He is far more worthy of my thoughts than my burdens are.

So if you are burdened – lay those burdens down! God isn’t asking you to carry them. If you feel like it’s impossible to lay them down, seek help from a godly man or woman in your life. There are people who can help you. You are not alone. You don’t have to live weighed down by your burdens. That is never what God intended for you.