Casting Your Burdens
One week ago, our family was delighted to take a leisurely six hour drive south to the coast of Texas. A family member’s generous gift to let us use their beach house for a few days was a welcomed change of scenery. Twelve of us divided into two cars and ventured to where land touched sea.
Each evening, the three dads gathered the children and grandchildren, lathered them up with bug spray, a necessary defense for those evening pests, cautiously wandered out onto the wooden pier and prepared the rods to catch a scaled prize.
The first evening was a success; I heard tales of one trout after another pulled by hook and line to victorious shouts of children and dads alike. Then came the most exhilarating story of a near miss with a shark. They could see the baby shark lurking right under the surface, and while it was attracted to the bait, the hopeful catch was never fully realized. The blithesome stories made for grateful Mommas back at the house.
The following evening, I was invited to go along with them. Fishing is something I have always enjoyed and jump at any chance I get, though I cannot fully explain why exactly. Perhaps it is the challenge of the catch, the unknown mystery of what lies below the surface, or the inclusion as ‘one of the guys’ on a mission. Whatever the reason, I accepted joyfully.
As the sun floated closer to the horizon and bright orange hues streaked across the clear sky, I took the prepared rod in hand and began to cast. I had forgotten how crucial the action of casting is in this sport. After receiving coaching on the intricacies of the backward and forward motion, what thumb goes where and when, how the line is fashioned to spin, it took me a while to process all of the information and execute it accurately.
One try. Nope. Two tries. Oops. Three tries. I think I need a new line. Help!
The joy of fishing is experienced only to the extent that the act of casting can be mastered. If you cannot cast, you cannot catch a fish. Period. It’s not rocket science.
I watched while my dad, my husband and my brother-in-law each took the rod from a hopeful little hand (or an adult-sized hand, ahem) and cast it for them. Then handed the rod back over to hopeful fishermen and ‘fisherwomen’ time and time again. The work was not so much in the standing and waiting or the reeling as it was in the casting.
In addition to bringing a much needed reminder today, this verse corroborates both the importance and challenge of casting during my recent fishing experience.
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you.” Psalm 55:22 ESV
The Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of Old Testament Hebrew, presents this phrase as, “cast your anxieties”.
Casting: Letting go; shedding; releasing.
When we release our burdens, cares and anxieties to God in prayer, in word and in heart posture, he promises to sustain.
Sustain: To support mentally or physically; strengthen.
We have the opportunity to feel his sustaining power in our lives when we are courageous enough to hand over the everyday worries of our lives.
Why, then, is casting our cares upon him so arduous at times?
Maybe we think it doesn’t matter, maybe we believe we can handle it better on our own, or we don’t really trust that He will handle it (the way want).
Perhaps my focus in prayer has become “hear me Lord”, “answer me Lord”, “help me Lord”, rather than, “take it, it’s yours”.
When I choose to handle life on my own and refuse to acknowledge my need for him, I am essentially saying that I am wiser than God, that I know better how to solve the problem, and then I am tempted to doubt his love and and his kindness to me with each trial.
As I marinate on this truth, it becomes clear that the act of casting is not only for us to acknowledge his ever present help, but it prevents us from becoming wise in our own eyes. (Proverbs 3:7)
This week as I felt another breaking point while looking out into the future and desiring to have all of the answers, I was prompted to just sit and write down my cares. The physical act of ‘casting’ for me this week was in the form of a journal entry as a list of burdensome thoughts and doubts covered one line after another.
No answers, yet. Just casting.
Other times, casting has been a physical posture of lying face down in prayer or a shared confession with a praying friend. The form of casting may look differently depending on the day, but the promise is always a sustaining hand for the journey.
I can’t help but think as I cast my most burdensome thoughts, my highest concerns, my most trivial and significant needs to him in prayer, it is like God handing the rod of this life back to me saying, “OK, now you are equipped to catch what I have in store for you today. I’ll be right beside you to help. Don’t fear, you are not alone. I’ve got this.”
If we are invited to “cast” our cares upon Him, how do we reconcile that with “bearing” one another’s burdens? If you have ever been in ministry, in counseling, in a healthcare profession, etc., the most difficult part from what I hear and from what I have experienced, is learning to how to love and serve, walking hand in hand with others through unimaginable suffering and still find joy.
Galatians 6:2 tells us to bear one another’s burdens, but I tend to forget that ‘bearing’ does not mean the same as ‘carrying’.
To bear means to hold up or support. It is a coming alongside of one another in the trials of life, to join in the fight with them. T his is what we are called to; we are called to take action, to fight injustice, to serve and love and walk alongside our brothers and sisters of every color, from every culture and in every season, especially seasons of suffering.
More times than not, however, I also try to carry, to solve or to fix the problems and forget that there remains an opportunity to “cast” not only my burdens, but the burdens of others on the One who can carry them. The One who promises to sustain me also cares for the burdens I carry for others.
When my husband and I became involved in the organization, Love 146, it felt beyond weighty to join in the fight against child sex trafficking. An issue so much bigger and darker than our worst imagination, it felt daunting to know where to even start. This was over 10 years ago, when trafficking wasn’t nearly as talked about as it is now. We weren’t sure how to bring it up in discussion because of the pictures that form when talking about children as young as 2 years old being exploited.
It is uncomfortable. It is heavy. It is horrific.
I remember asking the President and Founder of Love 146, Rob Morris, about the hardest part for him, as he courageously wakes up every day to fight this worthy cause. He said, the hardest part is to sleep at night knowing there is so much to be done. His only consolation was that even while he sleeps, he believes in a God who never sleeps and works on our behalf accomplishing his purposes even while we rest.
That has stayed with me to this day when the heaviness of trials in my own life or in the lives of those around me, known or unknown, threaten to keep my eyes from closing.
I am convinced that carrying more than we are equipped to leads to anxiety, depression, anger, rage, paralysis or even apathy to name a few.
As you act and fight for those in your life today, don’t forget to then release the burden to the only One who is big enough to carry our biggest cares and end suffering once and for all.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11: 28-30 ESV
Action:
Is there something you can cast upon your loving Savior today?
What might casting look like for you? A journal entry, a prayer, a conversation?
Even as you bear the burdens with those in your life, how might you cast more and carry less?
Can you trust Him with it?
God, give us the simple faith of casting our cares upon you because you care for us, you promise to strengthen us and you alone can give us lasting peace. Amen.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 ESV