When I attended the Living Waters Ministry School, one of the classes was about this very  subject, "Burden Bearing." Did you know that this is actually a gift from God?  Burden Bearers are people who are super sensitive to the hurts and wounds of others, and they can actually feel the burden as if it were their own. Like a sponge, the Burden Bearer soaks up the pain of another person.

God has given the Burden Bearer an eye to see and the heart to feel another's heartache, so that they will go to the Lord and pray for this person and their situation. It is the Holy Spirit working through them, and they intercede on the other's behalf.  They receive the burden, and then they give it to the Lord to handle. Our teacher used the example of a hurricane glass to show how quickly water passes through it from one end to the other. We are given the same instruction with our burdens - we receive the burden in one end, then pour it out to the Lord on the other end.  That's how God wants us to release our burdens to Him. 

Here's the key to that process though....you've got to leave the burden with God. Don't worry over it, take it on as your own, allow yourself to continue to mull over it, or allow it to stay with you. It belongs to God and God alone.  We were not made to carry our own or anyone else's burdens.

In Psalm 68:19, it says, "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior who daily bears our burdens." Another one implores us to release our burdens to Jesus where He says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

I encouraged my friend to release her burden and give it to the Lord. After all, it belonged to Him, right? When we carry either our own or someone else's burden, it weighs us down. It can make you physically sick and depressed.  Jesus came so that we would have life....abundant life....filled with lightness, joy, and peace. If we are taking on God's responsibility, we will not experience these things. It puts a block up and walls us in so the light cannot get inside.

If you are carrying a burden today, ask God to help you release it to Him. Ask Him to forgive you for trying to do His job, and then release it into His very capable hands. You will feel a huge weight come off your shoulders, and you will have that "rest for your souls" that He promised.

Wendy Farr