Years ago, when one of our sons was five, he came in from the garage, sweaty, eyes red and puffy from crying. He walked right past me to his room where he grabbed a pillow and a belt. What in the world? When I peeked in the garage, I realized that he had been watching his brothers zoom around the garage on their new roller skates. He had watched and studied and decided that he wanted to try his hand at it too. The problem was that he had no one helping him. He had fallen down so many times that he decided his solution would be to strap a pillow to his beaten and bruised bottom. He didn’t ask for help because, as he told me, “I got it!”
Aren’t we all a little like this with our heavenly Father? Psalm 68:19 says, “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” The author of the Psalm is rejoicing and praising Jesus for who He is, our Savior, and for who God is, our daily burden bearer! And isn’t it so easy to pass through life at lightening speed, pulling up the bootstraps and letting our decisions, emotions, words and actions stubbornly proclaim, “I got it!”
God can only bear our burdens if we will release to them to Him. I love the visual of the New Living Translation, it says, “…for each day he carries us in his arms.” Our sweet son could have saved his little bottom if he only allowed us to be his support, to help “carry him” as he learned how to balance himself.
Our Father desires to do the same, to be the same for us, but He loves us enough to not force His love upon us! One of the names of Jesus is, “Emmanuel, God with us”. It’s not just a name, it’s a name with a promise – He is WITH US DAILY! Another name for Jesus is our Salvation! When we face the pressures and stress of daily life, let the word, “daily”, remind us that we have a good and loving Father on whom we can call who is just waiting for us to place our burdens at HIS feet! He will carry them for us daily! In fact, He will carry US daily if we let Him! One of the best ways to do this is mentioned at the beginning of the verse…through praise. Kinda like a great exchange?
Psalm 55:2 commands us to cast our burdens on the LORD in exchange for two promises - for His promise to sustain us and to never permit us to be shaken! What would our daily lives look if we actually believed He is who He says He is and will do what He promises to do? Do we trust Him enough to daily cast our cares upon Him and praise Him for His promise to daily carry our burdens?
The next time you are tempted to act like a child who proclaims, “I’ve got it!”, how might you remind yourself that God is ready and waiting to daily bear your burdens?
How might you tangibly exchange your burdens for praise? i.e. You feel frustrated that you don’t have a plan for dinner – flip the script and praise God for all of the food in your pantry and ask Him to show you an easy solution. Pancakes & eggs anyone? J
The word “cast” literally means to fling or throw. The next time you are tempted to grumble, fling your frustration at the Lord’s feet and choose instead to praise Him that He promises to sustain you! Any praise is awesome praise in the eyes of our fond Father! What can you praise God for today?
Here is an amazing song that speaks to the faithfulness of our God amidst the most difficult of circumstances :)