Burdened?

     We all face trials of every kind. Many people are facing hard times financially. Jobs can be hard to find, and unexpected expenses can be devastating. Others face health problems, or marital problems. As Christians we face trials and temptations everyday. Our lives can become filled with stress and worry, which does nothing to fix our problems, and only seems to compound them!
     We are told in Psalm 55:22 to cast our burden on the Lord, and He will sustain us. Now many of us will pray about our problems without giving them to God. We fret and worry, so we pray. We fret and worry while we pray, and when we are done we are still fretting! A friend of mine once said that God had been dealing with him about praying in fear. His prayer was filled with as much fear and worry as the time he spent not in prayer. God was leading him down the road of faith, teaching him to let go of the burden.
     To cast our burden upon the Lord means to give it to Him. The Hebrew idea behind our word "cast" is to roll. We are to take our burden and to roll it upon the Lord. When we have done this it is no longer our burden, it belongs to Him. It is His, not ours! If it is not ours why worry? However God chooses to deal with the issue is up to Him! He might deal with it in a way that we would like, or He might not. That is up to Him, He is in control, and we have just given Him our burden. Regardless of what happens He will sustain us. He will not allow the righteous to be moved! When we trust in Him with an unwavering faith there is no room for worry. It cannot exist when we are settled down on a firm foundation of faith. It is faith that pleases God. what is not of faith is sin (Rom 14:23), and without faith it is impossible to please Him (Heb 11:6). Jesus tells us not to worry. We are unable to change anything by worry! It is the cares and worries of this life that choke out the word of God! Worry actually exposes an attitude of unbelief! James says when we ask, we are to ask in faith, no doubting! He who doubts is like the surging sea, filled with instability! that kind of individual should expect NOTHING from the Lord! Those are some very sobering words, but they are the inspired words of God, and we do well to heed them.
     What it comes down to is this. We have a God who is all knowing, all powerful, and Her loves us. He has already given us His Son, He will surely watch over us for good. He is pledged to provide for us as we seek His kingdom and righteousness first. He is working all things for our good. Sometimes our idea of what is good for us is different from God's idea, but He has our best interest in mind as we go through lifes trials.We need to take our burdens to the only one that can deal with them, and then in faith, a faith based upon the word of God, and placed in God, let them go. He will see us through!