I recently took a Bible Study class that Pastor Jon taught. It was a great learning time of how to cross reference and find the definition of the words in the original language. As I began to use the tools that are out there I discovered some interesting concepts, so shall I share with you both my hermeneutic particular as well as my exegesis? I suppose it leans more to the former. As I dug into this illumination of scripture God gave me a strong word to confirm the truths he revealed, and now I feel him telling me to let you all in on it. Here goes!
I was reading in Psalm 68:19 one day and read "Praise the Lord: praise God our Saviour! For each day he carries us in his arms." I mulled over this picture that began to be painted in my minds eye. The burdens we carry daily God overlooked as he lifted us into his arms and carried us along the way. A cross reference verse that my New Living Translation connected this to was Psalm 55:22, which reads, "Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall."
Immediately one concept cemented in my mind. It doesn't say here that the godly wont ever slip when the Lord takes care of you. When we do slip we wont fall. An ill-footed slip is better than an ill-fated fall. In the mind having a sure footed grounding in the Lord the familiar scripture from 1 Peter 5 then came to mind. "Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for a victim do devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering as you are." The concept of needed a strong standing in the Lord is reinforced. A reminded as well that you aren't the only one who will face this issue of slipping. It says that your brothers in Christ are enduring such sufferings as well. And these people are there to lean on in the midst of a slip up. You also can see here that its not just us as we are struggling to 'balance' there is an enemy trying to push us to not only slip but to fall.
I wanted to dig deeper into this idea as the wheels in my mind continued to give me no rest and continued to crank. So I grabbed my NKJ and flipped back to Psalm 55:22. This translation served to fill in the color for the roughly sketched image in my mind. "Cast all your burdens on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved." There is the familiar language of that verse that we have all sung of in Sunday school (Cast your burdens! *clap clap clap* Unto Jesus! *clap clap clap* ok you get the idea...). God showed me the picture in my minds eye- there you stand. You are SO sick of the burdens you've been drudging along with. Whatever that might be, I know they are coming into your thoughts right now, can you see yourself standing there-sick of carrying these weighty things around with you? You then just abruptly take hold of the wretched burdens and forcefully throw them on to Jesus. Not at all in a mocking, or angry way, you just realize how strong he is and how willing he is to take these. You then stager as the heaviness leaves you. You haven't walked with out that seemingly 'stabilizing' weight thats been upon you. You stumble to find your footing, you may even perhaps slip. But then the sturdy, strength filled hands of Jesus take hold of our shoulders and we are not moved.
This release of your burdens is a complete paradigm shift. Where we once lived out of our wounds and selfishness with out burdens weighing us down we can now hardly balance under the lightness which is found as we allow Jesus to be are "paraklete" the one who comes along side us. What then does this life lived out under a new burden free atmosphere look like?
Strongs Concordance's definition for this Hebrew word 'cast' found in Ps. 55, is "salak"- to be thrown, adventured, hunt, plucked. This implies that this casting off of burdens comes with adventure- moving into new territory. This same salak/cast is used in Isaiah 38:17, "Indeed it was for my own peace that I was in great bitterness But you have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For you have cast all my sin behind your back." I believe that this use of cast speaks to the fact that as we cast our burdens onto the Lord its part of the act of letting go of out past transgressions, forgiving ourselves and he then in turns doesnt keep them at the forefront of his focus, he throws them behind him so we can set out on this adventure with him. He begins to sustain us in a new way, where we wont slip. This sustain in Strong's means "to provide, contain, feed, nourish, abide, able to abide." We are walking in this new life with God, remember this is the godly-not a picture of becoming saved for the first time. Its a deeper level when the 'godly' allow God to take them in his arms and when they let go of their burdens, he is then able to abide with us-at a deeper level. As Ps. 55 says he wont allow us to be moved-moved from this place of his protection, provision and where he abides with us. All we must do is submit to his help and cast our burdens upon him!
After I was just praying about this and asking God to help me take the steps to cast my burdens to him and let him throw them behind his back, God just began to speak to me- and I believe he wants to tell YOU this as well. Open your heart to what he whispered to mine...
"Stop holding onto these horrible burdens. Pluck them out of your life and hurl them to me. Don't fear the unnerved feelings. I am taking you on this adventure. I will hold you and sustain you. I will abide in you. With this weightiness gone, I am able to receive you. I will feed you as you look for nourishment. Take that step to embrace the romance adventure I have for you. The moment you throw your burdens to me I throw them behind my back. As I am the center of the being of the universe the burdens you once were so familiar with I cast as far as the the east is from the west. Come embark on this with me!"
So...how about it? Are you willing to throw off the burdens, realize that when you slip the Lord is sustaining you and embark on this adventure he is waiting to walk in with you? You are sure to slip at some time, under a heavy load-the struggle to stand back up with be harder. If you fall under a heavy load, you will get hurt. Let's cast off these burdens. I know I am trying..its a daily choice..but isn't it a choice worth making?
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