He will carry your burdens

Yesterday in Sunday School, Pastor was teaching on Hebrews 12 and when he read that first verse, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.", my mind began, as it always does, to break it down and digest. I thought beset- hinder, get off track, be entangled, ensnared and when I got home to a place of study, I began to think about it some more and some more. When you look up the word beset, you find these definitions:

• 1. To attack from all sides.
• 2. To trouble persistently; harass.
• 3. To hem in; surround.

So, I thought Lord what do we carry around with us that causes us to be attacked from all sides by the enemy? What do we lug around with us that just constantly harasses us or troubles us? Do we have something within us that causes us to feel hemmed in or surrounded by trouble and adversity?

We have all done this. We carry within our spirit things that hinder us from doing what God has called us to do. Things like resentment, anger, bitterness, & the big one for me for years FEAR. But, the Word of God tells us to lay aside that weight that sin that is trying to take us out of the race that God has for us. The enemy would just truly enjoy seeing us fall down under the weight of what we insist on carrying around with us. He tells us in His Word to cast our cares upon Him,because He cares for us,1 Peter 5:7. So, why then do we insist on carrying those things that we don't have to carry?

Sometimes we are actually like a bell hop at a hotel carrying other peoples baggage for them. Listen, we do not have to carry these things! We can give them to Jesus, and say Lord this is too heavy for me to carry. He will help you, He will deliver you from any addiction, fear, doubt, problem that you have and free you up so that you will be lighter and be better able to travel on this road that He has set us on.
When you have things that come into your life like sorrow, or grief, let Him have it. He will carry those things for you. He knows how heavy those burdens can be. He came to this earth and lived in a body just like you and me so that He would know how it feels to be human. He is our great High Priest, that is touched with our infirmities, the Word says in Hebrews 4:14-15 He has compassion on us, He shows us His love by carrying our burdens for us. He is our burden- bearer.

What more perfect way of showing us this than for Him to carry the cross up the hill of Golgotha and lay down His life for us? He carried our burdens to that cross that day and He was crucified for our sins, so that we wouldn't have to bear the penalty for our own sins. He loved us, He loves us and He will always love us. His love is eternal and He doesn't want us to walk through this life defeated and beat down trying to carry things that are way too heavy for us to bear. So...lay it down today. Do you have an addiction that has ensnared and entangled you to the point that you just don't feel like you can ever be free? Give it to Jesus, He will deliver you today. Do you feel crippled by fear? Trust me, been there, done that, got several tshirts cause I wore them out. He WILL deliver you from fear, perfect love casts out fear, the Word says, so when we receive the true love of God and walk in love toward Him and others, we will have no place for fear in our lives any longer. He is a burden-bearing, sin-forgiving, Redeemer and He loves us! Don't carry things that you don't have to carry. Give your luggage to Jesus, step out in faith and follow after Him, He will make sure that you finish this race of life, unencumbered, and care free. What a mighty, compassionate, and caring Jesus we have!