At the time, those words seemed almost too good
to be true. They helped me deal with my problems and encouraged my growth in
grace. I read them over and over, memorizing them without even trying. Now, four
decades later, Psalm 55:22 is even more precious to me. Its truth and comfort
and promise remain constant, even though my life circumstances (and burdens)
are much different.
I thought it might be a blessing to share the verse that has
been such a blessing to me. My plan is to focus on asking and answering three
questions: for this post, what is your
burden? Next time, what are your
options? And for a final post on the verse, what is God’s promise?
What is your
burden?
I mean that question in two ways. First, what is your burden? After all, since we are
called to cast our burden on the Lord, we better know what we are casting.
We all have burdens of one kind or another. They are the trials
and tests, limitations and losses, responsibilities and reverses that handicap
us in the race of life. They pull us downward, a cruel gravity that slows our
progress and drags us toward discouragement, failure, and despair.
Or at least that’s how we think of them. “Burden” might mean
economic hardship, a learning disability, the death of a loved one, an unhappy
marriage, chronic illness, a difficult relationship with a loved one, betrayal
or abandonment by someone close.
But there’s a second way to look at the question “what is
your burden?” Your burden is what God has given you. The word “burden” is
unique – used only here in the entire Hebrew Bible. But it comes from the verb “to
give.” F.B. Meyer explains it as “that which God has given thee to carry.” Or
Spurgeon says “what thy God lays upon thee.”
Your “burden” is the specific life the sovereign Lord has
chosen for you – including liabilities and advantages, heartaches and joys.
In Psalm 55, King David’s burden was the betrayal of a
close friend (see vv. 12-14, 20-21). But he didn't think of this trial as a random
act of evil, but as something given him by the God who was his Good Shepherd.
The first real step in dealing with our problems, set-backs and obstacles is being
able to see them as the Lord sees them. For God's children, burdens, even the heaviest and most painful ones, ultimately serve His purpose: His glory and our good.
Burdens may seem unfair. They
certainly slow us down, and at times they may feel impossible to carry. But do
you ever think of them as gifts which God has designed for your life so that You
will give them back to Him?
For next time: What are your options in dealing with burdens?
