Burdened?

Psalm 68
3 But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.
4 Sing to God, sing praise to his name, extol him who rides on the clouds his name is the LORD—and rejoice before him.
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
6 God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
34 Proclaim the power of God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose power is in the skies.
35 You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!

New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

When the burdens of life seem to become more than we can bear, what are we to do? We can give in and give up; we can assign blame; we can seek to drown the burden in substances or in activity; or we can share the burden with someone. Why do we hesitate to share our burdens – is it pride?

Psalm 68:19 indicates that God “daily bears our burdens.” How many times do we seek to retake the burden away from God and carry it again for ourselves? The selected verses from Psalm 68 mention the burdens of being an orphan, a widow, lonely, or a prisoner. All of these people can easily focus on what they are missing, but in reality missing the ministry of God in our lives is a significantly bigger problem.

What happens when we fail to release our burdens to God? We become a prisoner of the burden we bear. Our approach to the difficulties of life is so much a matter of attitude. For example, we may be more than happy to exercise to prepare for a hiking trip or a race; yet, we would be severely unhappy to have to walk the same distance because our car was out of gas. Last summer I saw a group of people working in the heat and sleeping in a hot un-air-conditioned hotel and enjoying what they were doing because they were serving a group of orphans in Latvia. Serving God by serving others brings joy, not a burden. In like physical circumstances, I can let the problems of life become a burden if my focus is self-directed. Verse 6 indicates that my rebellion can put me in a “sun-scorched land”

My focus must be on the magnificence of God rather than upon the magnitude of the problems at hand. God’s infinite resource is always adequate whereas my limited resource is more than likely depleted. I must remember the promise of verse 35 “the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!”