Our Burden Bearer

Psalm 55:22

Cast you burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.



God is the One Who Bears Our Burdens.



The word burden is from an Old English word that means to carry a load or weight.



Three important questions:

Are you carrying any burdens?

If you are carrying burdens what are they?

What can you do to get rid of your burdens?



The first two questions no one can answer for you. I will share a burden that I carried for years. My burden was great fear that I had in my life. The fear was a fear of failing. I was obsessed with success so much that I would not try anything that I was not very sure that I would succeed at. If I didn’t feel like I had succeeded, I would lie to make it at least sound like I succeeded. I would feel discouraged when I didn’t feel like I had succeeded and I rarely felt like I had. There came a point in my life when I was gripped by that fear. I slept for several months in the living room with the television on to try and drown out the fearful thoughts in my mind.



The three question, “What can you do to get rid of your burdens?” God answers for us in His Word. 



First, we have to humbly cast.



1 Peter 5:6-7

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because He cares for you.



Jesus cares for us and when we acknowledge we cannot carry the burden or overcome the fear, and we give the burden to Jesus, He will take it and release us from it.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is casting our burdens, whatever there are on Jesus and knowing He will take them.



Second, we have to recognize who our enemy is and what he is trying to do.



1 Peter 5:8

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.



Jesus is on our side. Satan is not; he is our adversary. We have to be sober-minded, collected in spirit. We need to not let the burden that our adversary has put on us control our lives. We also need to be watchful. We need to understand what our adversary is trying to do by controlling our lives with burdens. He is trying to destroy us. 



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is seeing who our adversary really is and seeing what he is trying to do.



Third, let go of the burden because it is hindering us from living life as God created us to live it.



Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.



We let go of the burdens that weigh us down and live life with a God-given endurance. Life is a gift from God and we are to live life as a gift from God. It will have its burdens and difficult times, but if we view them as opportunities to grow, God will use them.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living life as a gift from God even with its burdens.



Fourth, rejoice in Jesus.



Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice.



We experience the joy by rejoicing in Jesus and by focusing on His love for us and on the gifts He gives us. We lose the joy by focusing on what we don’t have and on the burdens.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is focusing on the good gifts Jesus gives us and rejoicing in Him.



Fifth, pray and let God’s peace rule in our lives.



Philippians 4:5-7

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.



Turn your anxieties, your burdens, into prayer with a grateful attitude and God’s peace will guard your heart and mind. God’s peace is greater than any burden we will face in life. God through prayer will turn the anxiety into peace.



Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is trusting God through prayer and experiencing His peace.



God is our Burden Bearer. Turn your burdens, your fears, your anxieties over to Him.



In God’s Power Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,

                                         Joe