An Invitation To Cast Your Cares Upon The Lord
Life places heavy loads on us – physically, emotionally, and spiritually – and even the strongest among us eventually reach a breaking point. From statistics on rising mental health struggles to real-life stories of people weighed down by despair, it’s clear we were never meant to carry such burdens alone.
However, the Bible offers another way: an invitation to cast our cares upon the Lord; finding peace, strength, and freedom in Him.
Casting Our Cares Upon The Lord
The human body is capable of remarkable physical strength. In 1993, Canadian Gregg Ernst performed a back lift of two cars with their drivers on a platform, a weight of 2,422.2 kg. However, everyone has a limit, even strongmen. Likewise, some people are capable of great emotional resilience and endurance, but everyone has a threshold.
The stresses and strains of modern life have resulted in many people suffering with anxiety, depression and poor mental health. There are numerous examples of people throughout history and in current times – this includes everyone from the rich and famous to ordinary people like us. In the UK, 53,239 people were ‘sectioned’ 2020-21. In the USA, this figure was c.63,600 individuals. The World Health Organisation records that there are more than a billion people worldwide living with mental health conditions. Statistics show that 1 in 4 men and 1 in 3 women experience symptoms of depression with younger people being more likely to suffer from it.
Gladys Deacon was a ‘society beauty’ of great intellect, with staggering wealth, speaking many languages and influenced many public figures. Sadly, her burdens were too much and she became depressed, falling out with family and friends. In 1962, she was ‘sectioned’ and detained in a secure psychiatric unit against her will until she died in 1977 aged 96.
- ‘I do so wonder as most of us do what on earth life is for and what it is really meant to mean and to lead to’ – Gladys Deacon, Dowager Duchess of Marlborough
Carrying Loads
Camels carry heavy loads but even for them, there is ‘the last straw that breaks its back’ as the proverb goes. We are not meant to carry heavy burdens and it is no surprise that we will buckle if and when the weight becomes too much as it did for Gladys. Struggling to discover a reason for living will often be the reason people become ‘unhinged’.
A Load of Hot Air
A Hot Air Balloon will rise once it is untethered. If it runs out of fuel, the pilot may need to lose weight by throwing things overboard. A ‘Balloon Debate’ is a popular exercise used with students whereby each one needs to justify their place to stay in the balloon for the survival of the group. More seriously, there will be burdens you need to cast out of your life for your own good. ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’ is the line from a poem written in 1830 by Alexander William Kinglake. The fact that most of the pain done to people comes from other people’s words disproves this.
Easier Said Than Done
Have you tried forgetting cruel words that have been said to or about you only to have painful memories reassert themselves? Life is not a game to see how long we can stay afloat. God knows that without His help we will all sink. Harsh words and bitter experiences can be like lead weights dragging us down to the depths.
God Gives Us Another Way
Knowing we are not made to carry heavy emotional burdens is fine but what are we to do with them? Here’s what God says:
- ‘Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you’ – 1 Peter 5:7
- ‘Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’ – Matthew 11:28
- ‘Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge’ – Psalm 62:8
These are three invitations God gives to you for your wellbeing.
Casting Off
This is not only about letting go but of recognising what needs to go and then energetically throwing it away from you. The only way that a burden will not ‘boomerang’ back to you is if you ‘cast’ it to the Lord. He alone is the One that can remove it from you ‘as far as the East is from the West’ – a beautiful image given to us in Psalm 103 verse 12.
Losing The Weights
Do any of these weigh you down:
- The guilt of sin?
- The ache of unanswered prayers?
- The fear of financial instability?
- The grief of relational strain?
- The fatigue of spiritual dryness?
Take a look at the things that are bringing you down. Identify them – write a list if it helps. Then comes the release.
Find Relief
God’s promise is that as you come to Him, weary and burdened, He will give you rest. The conditions are that you:
- Come
- Cast
- Trust
If you bring that list to God, a helpful visual insight is to burn it (safely outside or in a fireplace). Watch the fire catch it and give thanks as you see the embers. Imprint it on you mind and you will find the joy of release that is yours as you trust in Christ Jesus to meet your every need through His victory of taking your burdens upon Himself on the cross.
Rise On Eagle’s Wings
As a hot air balloon heading for a crash landing will rise from disaster, so you will too. Our human tendency is to hold on to problems and try to resolve them ourselves. It is our pride and stubbornness that leads to this. What if we do what God invites us to do?
‘But those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak’ – Isaiah 40:31
God knows we get burdened. Coming to Him and truly casting off your burdens will bring you the blessings of freedom-living, a lightness of spirit, a clear mind and a new slate.
Final Word
An old Scottish proverb says, ‘Confession is good for the soul’. Letting go of burdens is not a one-off thing. The daily grind of life means that we need to bring every new burden to God. Live this way and ask for the Holy Spirit each day so that you ‘will run and not grow weak’.