Burden Bearer

by Katie Loveless

Have you ever had a load that wore you down? Have you ever wanted to release what you were carrying? I know I have. God brought this point home to me recently as I picked up my oldest sons from elementary school.

The school has a process to direct traffic. Students are usually called by name through a walkie and line up as their parents arrive. This particular day, I waited and watched everyone else’s children run to their cars. Mine were nowhere in sight. As the teachers began to wave traffic through, I pointed to the name hanging from the rear-view mirror to signify my children had not been released to me. I was instructed to pull over to the handicap parking while my children were located and escorted to me. In my eagerness to greet them, I waited by the van with the doors already open in anticipation of their arrival.

As I greeted each of my children, I gave them hugs and noticed the weight each carried in their respective backpacks. They were eager to climb inside but struggled under the weight and bulk of their sagging packs. Straight away, I lifted the load of each, which afforded them more ease. Instinctively, each of them quickly surrendered their packs once they realized the burden was lifted. They demonstrated there was no need to carry what someone else was willing to, and that truth hit me square where I need it.

Let that truth saturate your soul! Soak it up like a sponge. Isaiah 53:4 says, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”

There is no need to carry the burden that someone else is bearing.

I need this reminder in the season I am in. I find myself stumbling under the weight of it all—unable to carry on under the pressure, bogged down in despair, and just plain tired. Just like the kids at the end of a long day, I carry on carrying until the moment of relief comes when I realize God is bearing my burdens.

While our pickup story serves as a great reminder, it does not stop there. Burden-bearing grace is available to us at all times. We do not need an appointment to get it. We do not need 40 // December 2021

to be in the right lane to get it. We do not even have to be on the move to get it. In fact, you can find yourself parked in the handicap space and still receive burden-bearing grace. All that is required to receive grace is faith. The apostle Paul reminds us of this in Ephesians 3:12 as he says, “In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him.”

He stands at the ready to receive you and all your cares. Will you surrender them today? He is eager, willing to carry if you are willing to surrender. Picture a school girl strolling home and an interested boy strolling alongside her, offering to carry his books and hers too. Both delight in the stroll as he shows how capable he is, while she is secure in his affections and in this willingness to bear the load.

Beloved, may you know He delights in you. He delights in your burden, and it is His delight to bear it. He is not interested in what you can carry. He longs instead for your surrender.

“He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy” (Psalm 147:10-11).

About The Author Katie Loveless is a social worker, wife, and mother of five boys. She is a student of grace who enjoys writing, gardening, and empowering others to pursue stability. Katie is also the author of arisetoo.blogspot.com.