Shifting the Burden

A recent news report told of the discovery of the world’s third largest diamond. It was about the size of a hen’s egg and worth eight to nine million dollars. Imagine the excitement and the joy of the finder!

Similarly, there are times when the implications of one of God’s promises to his children suddenly strike the mind as though with a blinding light, when a truth revealed becomes a precious assurance that can be put to practical use and will bring both joy and comfort.

For some weeks now the admonitions and promises of Philippians 4:4–7 have been on my mind. Accepted at face value and acted upon, they can bring untold blessing.

The passage reads, “Delight yourselves in the Lord; yes, find your joy in him at all times. Have a reputation for gentleness, and never forget the nearness of your Lord. Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God, which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus” (Phillips).

Human existence involves anxiety, worry, burdens, care, concern. Problems, problems, problems—there seems to be no end to matters that interfere with tranquility and peace of mind. Yet though anxiety is an inevitable part of the drama of human life, there is a supernatural remedy offered to those who will accept it.

The underlying cause of much of our apprehension is a distorted sense of values on the one hand and on the other our foolish attempts to be our own burden-bearer. We permit the cares of this world, the false glamour of money and material things, worldly ambitions, and a host of other things to crowd in on our conscious and subconscious lives until we feel ready to explode.

When the Apostle Peter wrote, “You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern” (1 Pet. 5:7, Phillips), he meant exactly the same thing the psalmist did when he said, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you” (Ps. 55:22).

This promise of relief from worry is also found in Jesus’ words, “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” (Matt. 11:28–30).

The way to freedom from anxiety can be called transference: we simply turn the problem and its solution over to our Lord and rest in him.

There are apt to arise within us worries about health, and about having enough money to pay our bills (we forget Jesus’ promise in Matthew 6:33 that all the necessities of life will be provided if we put him and his Kingdom first). Hard decisions, dangers to ourselves and loved ones, matters of occupation and obligations, concern over the world situation and over the seeming triumph of sin—all these matters crowd in upon us. They are worrisome and frightening for us, but not for the One who waits for us to confide in him and leave the outcome in his hands!

Does not our trouble lie in the fact that our conception of God is too small? Do we not forget that he is all-loving, infinite in his wisdom, knowledge, and power, and that for him no problem exists other than our lack of understanding and faith, and our limiting him by our own human limitations?

We are not spiritual orphans left to our own devices. Our Father is always interested in us, and he is nearer than hands or feet.

This passage of Philippians (4:4–7) tells us that the ultimate source of our joy and delight should be the Lord Jesus. This relationship is not fitful, transient, or subject to change. It is as constant as the Rock of Gibralter.

A complete surrender to the Lord and joy in him even changes our personalities, producing gentleness, forbearance, moderation, and magnanimity. Our Lord’s gentleness and lowliness of spirit blossom in our own lives.

For years, when I read this passage in the King James Version I thought of the nearness of the Lord in terms of his return. But the thought here actually is that he is near us all the time and that we should constantly lean on his presence.

This transference of anxiety involves telling all the details to him—not because he doesn’t already know, but because he wants us to talk to him about our troubles for our own good. He is simply waiting for this expression of our faith in him in order to take over the problem and handle it in his own way, for his own glory.

And because we have turned the matter over to the sovereign ruler of the universe, as he has directed, we can praise and thank him for the solution to our anxiety even before we see how he will answer. It becomes a matter of resting in his loving hands, just because we know he is able and willing to be our burden-bearer.

There is a certain and precious result: anxiety vanishes and his peace fills our hearts—a peace beyond human explanation but real, a peace born of his presence that fills and keeps our hearts and minds (our thoughts) with a sense of resting in and on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Is this too simplistic? Is the Apostle Paul’s injunction to the Philippian Christians irrelevant to the pressures and anxieties of life today?

With all my heart I believe we have in these four verses the key to living as the Christian should. How could we more clearly demonstrate the relevance of our faith than by meeting the difficulties and anxieties of life by turning them all over to the Lord? For by so doing we prove not only that our delight and joy is in him but also that he is both able and willing to provide us with the solution.

In the midst of writing this article I received a letter from a business executive, only thirty-eight, who is recovering from a coronary occlusion. His doctor says the chances are good that he will have another within five years.

This man is an active Christian, willing to know and do God’s will for his life, but in this letter he suggests that “anxieties about my job and my insufficient faith to trust my problems to the Lord were contributing factors to my having a heart attack.” The promises in this passage of Scripture would seem to hold the answer to his problem.

The words of the old hymn—“O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!”—are still wonderfully applicable in our day.

The psalmist says, “Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee” (Ps. 26:3). Every Christian needs to learn the extent of his own ineffectiveness and God’s complete ability to fulfill his promises.

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