I Suggest Both

I thought my burden was too heavy for me to carry. It kept me up at night. It raised my blood pressure. It pulled down my smile to a frown. It made me question my beliefs. It caused me to snap when I’m usually patient. It caused anger and resentment. It caused negative stress that manifested in physical ways. It caused thoughts of hatred and revenge to rise up on the inside. So, I thought my burden was too heavy for me to carry.

The above paragraph could be a description of anyone. A heavy load will bring out of us things that we never imagined thinking or doing. The pressures of life can put us in such a squeeze that even breathing can become a chore. Bills to pay, children to raise, clothes to wash, deadlines to meet, quotas to fill, medicine to take, enemies to watch, family to help, dreams to chase and on and on the list goes. So, what can we do about our heavy burdens?

I recommend a change of perspective about your burden. Consider that your burden is not necessarily all bad or wrong. Perhaps your burden is more of an indicator of you being weak, than of it being heavy. Maybe you need more strength instead of a lighter load. This is good advice because you may not be able to lighten your load at the moment, but you can increase your strength to help carry the load.

You can increase your strength by resting when you can, eating the best that you can, exercising when you can and then by bringing someone else in under the load. Sometimes a friend can provide the break or the elbowroom you need to be able to make it another day or just another hour. The right person can say the right word of encouragement that provides the needed push to be able to go just a little bit further.

If your burden is too heavy for you to carry, then it’s an indicator that you need to build up your strength or that your burden was never meant for you to carry alone. I’ve watched people in the gym working out. The weight that crushed one person was nothing to the other. The only difference was strength. So, get stronger. I have also watched people at church. Two people were going through almost identical trials. One person ended stuck in bewilderment and the other person kept right on moving. The difference maker was God. One person tried to carry their burden alone and fell under its’ weight. The other person kept God under the load and lived as if he carried only a feather.

Increased strength or the right “somebody” can make a burden lighter. The truth is that burdens, like weights at the gym, don’t actually get lighter. Forty-five pounds is still forty-five pounds. Increased strength, however, by you becoming stronger or by yoking up with a spotter can help get the weight off of you. I suggest both.