Laying the burdens down

Read Psalm 5:1-3

1 O LORD,hear me as I pray;
       pay attention to my groaning.
2 Listen to my cry for help,my King and my God,
       for I pray to no one but you.
3 Listen to my voice in the morning,LORD.
       Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. (NLT)

It is so distressingly easy to bring a burden to God and talk at length to him about the burden we are carrying without actually relieving ourselves of that burden. It is as if we come alongside God telling him all about the load we carry while all the time clinging to that load which weighs us down.

We might imagine God extending his arms out to us offering to take the burden,but we are too busy worrying about it,gnawing at it like a dog at a bone. We can become overcome with anxiety even as we share such anxiety with God.

The Psalmist suggests we bring our groaning to God trusting he hears us. We do this at the beginning of the day before all the pressures and concerns of the day get to us. We then wait expectantly for his answers. This is where it gets hard for us. We want an instant solution,a quick answer. God may have other ideas.

No matter. We hand our burdens over to him. We wait for his answer expectantly. We realise he may hand us back at least some responsibility for dealing with whatever preoccupies us,knowing he will empower us to do so. Prayers of surrender are not passports to passivity on our part.

It is our job and privilege to cast our cares on God. It is our job and privilege to leave outcomes to him.

Blessings
David Reay

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