April 8

Strength for God-given burdens

“Every man shall bear his own burden” (Gal. 6:5).
“Bear ye one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2).
“Cast thy burden upon the Lord” (Psa. 55:22).

The Hebrew word translated “burden” really signifies that which is given to us, or that which is appointed to every man to bear. We must, therefore, understand the Psalmist to say—whatever thy God lays upon thee, thou must lay it upon the Lord. He has cast thy lot upon Him. But can this text be reconciled with the two others? Yes, quite easily. We are commanded to bear our own burdens, and this requires the resolute performance of our own duties. God will not release us from duty, but He will sustain us in the doing of it. The load which is laid upon us will not crush us, for He will give us strength equal to our day. If other people wonder why and how we march along under the load without breaking down, our only answer is, “We put this load upon the strength which God puts into us. His grace was sufficient to enable us to bear the burden.”


God’s wonderful and gracious offer is to lighten our loads by putting Himself, as it were, into our souls, and underneath the loads. This is a supernatural process, and the whole walk of faith through life is the simple but sublime reliance upon an almighty arm that is never seen but always felt. This accounts for the fact that the word “trust” is the keyword of Old Testament theology, and the word “believe” is the keywords in the New Testament. They both mean substantially the same thing. And when our heavenly Father saith, “Cast thy burden upon Me,” and our loving Redeemer saith, “Cast the load of thy sins upon Me,” They expect us to take Them at Their word.
—Theodore Cuyler.

There is strength for the load He gives us,
And balm for the thorn He sends,
But none for the needless burdens
And none for our selfish ends.

For His yoke is easy to carry,
And His burden is light in weight;
He will do His share of the labor,
For He is a true yoke-mate.

Are we weary and heavy-laden?
Are we anxious and full of care?
That is not the cross of His giving,
But the one that we make and bear.
—Annie Johnson Flint.

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