Burden-Bearer
"Praise be to the LORD, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." (Psalm 68:19 NIV)
The original readers of today's key verse would have understood burdens from an agricultural and "pre-automotive" (VERY "pre-"!) standpoint: the Hebrew word translated "burdens" here refers to a load lifted and carried by a pack animal.
The burdens we carry around—the kind this verse more intentionally refers to—are less tangible but perhaps more real in terms of their mental and emotional weight and their power to make us stagger under their load as we walk.
Grief.
Guilt.
Shame.
Regret.
Worry.
Fear.
Anger.
Hurt.
It's not that these burdens are imaginary. They are real, and they are part of real life on this earth in a world that is not as it should be. God does not say, "Quit feeling these things." He does not say, "Pretend these don't exist." He says, "Let me carry them." If these burdens were not real, there would be no need of Him to bear them. But bear them He will, if we let Him. He does not pry them from our backs. He asks us to cooperate with Him, to show our faith in His strength by giving them to Him.
What does letting God bear our burdens look like in real life, though? How do I let God bear my worry burden or my grief burden or my regret burden? Sometimes, I think it looks like praying about that burden even though I do. Not. Want. To. Even through clenched teeth. Even though I don't FEEL like it. Sometimes, it looks like dragging my mind off that burden and forcing it onto something else. Sometimes, it looks like disciplining myself to be thankful about something connected to that burden.
And sometimes, maybe, it looks like something the pastor of our church shared during his message one Sunday. He said that Quakers often pray with their palms open and facing down toward the ground to symbolize letting go of whatever they might have been clenching in their fists. I try to do this while I'm out walking and praying each morning: extend my arms, turn my open palms toward the ground, and tell God, "Here. I'm giving this to you." This is a daily exercise. Which God, who tells us He "daily bears our burdens," knows full well.
Praise be to Him, indeed.
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!