Unburden

1 Peter 5:⁷ “Pour out all your worries and stress upon him and leave them there, for he always tenderly cares for you.” (TPT).

This is so beautiful. In other words, unload all your worries on Jesus, since He is looking after you. I have had many people ask me, “How do you handle stress? You went through a lot; how did you handle the stress? How come you did not break down?” It is simple, I pour out all my worries and stress upon Him and leave it there! I unload it to God, and I leave it there. I just turn them over to the Lord, I abandon them there. And I go to play FIFA, or play golf, or read a book, or go for a walk. I do not carry the problem again. Once you take it to the Lord, leave it there. Leave it there. Do you know the hymn? Let’s sing it together and pay attention to the words.

Refrain: Leave it there, leave it there,

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out,

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

We need to learn the act of leaving it there. Just leave it there! Carry the load to the Lord and leave it there. You should not leave God’s presence still carrying the same load. Sometimes, we take the load into God’s presence, and we carry the load out of God’s presence. No, it is not your load anymore. Leave it there. The story is told of a young man driving along the road, and he saw an old woman carrying a heavy load on her head. So, he gave the woman a ride in his truck. When he looked through the rear-view mirror, he saw the woman still carrying the load on her head. So, he parked the truck, went to the old lady, and said, “You can drop the load Ma.” And her response was, “My son, you have carried me, but let me still carry this one.” You have prayed about it, then leave it there. You have taken it to the Lord, so leave it there!

The J.B. Phillips Translation of 1 Peter 5:⁷ “You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern.” (emphasis added). Just say, “Lord, please take this load off me”. Why? You are God’s personal concern. Beautiful! I heard about an extensive study done by insurance companies, and it showed that people who attend church every week, live on average, 5.7 years longer than people who do not attend church every week. Going to church lengthens your life. Why would that be? It is because when people go to church, they unburden by bringing their burdens to God.

Prayer: Father, I throw the whole weight of my worries on You, in Jesus Name. Amen!