I don’t mean to carry burdens. Sometimes I don’t even see them coming, and it’s not until weeks later I realise I’ve been labouring under them. Burdens are cares, right? They’re worries, anxieties, and concerns. They are matters that weigh heavy upon our minds and hearts.

But Jesus said to cast ALL our cares upon Him for He cares for us. He said to come unto Him all who are weary and heavy laden, to learn from Him, that He would give us rest because HIS yoke is easy and HIS burden is light.

Obviously, the Lord knows we have burdens, He knows we carry them. But He has a burden of His own He wants us to carry, which is the matter of His own heart and mind. His burden and my burdens are very, very different. They are literally worlds apart. His burden is of His Father’s heart and the Kingdom of God, whereas my burdens are of my flesh/soul and this earthly kingdom. My burdens are loaded with care, concern, anxiety, worry, and fear, but His burden is light! So clearly, there’s an exchange of burdens that is meant to take place.

Now I’m not talking about having problems. We all have problems. Problems are a part of life; very often, they are the very means by which the Lord changes us. I’m talking about the burden and the carrying of heaviness that weighs us down to the point of despair.

In the same way that I am called to exchange my burden for His and therefore clearly can’t carry both His burden and my own at the same time, I am reminded I can’t live in His Kingdom while I’m living in the care and burdens of the kingdom of this world. How can I live in the Kingdom of God, where I belong, while carrying cares and anxieties that belong to the world? That’s right; they belong to the world, which means they do not belong to me, for I am a citizen of another Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven. If I’m carrying burdens of this world, it’s a good sign of my attachment to the place, of my being bound to it somehow, and there’s something wrong with that picture. It sounds like I’ve been hoodwinked!

This introduces the word “yoke” that Jesus talked about. What is a yoke? It is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as “a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plough or cart that they are to pull”. This is referenced in 2 Corinthians 6:14, where the Lord tells us not to be unequally yoked. So if I’m all loaded up with burdens and cares of this world, I am yoked to this world, I am fastened to it, its ways, its cares, its burdens, and I’m going to end up walking around in circles or standing still. But I don’t want to be like this, nor does the Lord want me to be.

So here’s the thing. How can I cast my cares upon the Lord? How do I unburden myself and take on His burden instead? I’ve concluded, after years of practice, that I can’t. Oh yes, I’ve even wrangled and wrestled many weeks at a time with this overwhelming reality that I cannot unburden myself no matter how much I want to. No matter how much praying, resting, or escaping, I cannot unburden myself. Yes, even my prayers are filled with anxiety and doubt, and I feel I am wasting my time because I can’t stop myself. So what is the answer?

In Christ! I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me! What great news! What is impossible for man is possible with God, through Christ! He has taken all my cares and burdens, placed them on Himself, and brought them to the cross! If only I could see this as the truth! But that would require faith!

So in faith, in living by the Kingdom of God of which I am a part, I can turn to the Lord Jesus, who lives in me and ask Him to hand my burdens over to the Father for me. I can do nothing in my flesh, but in Christ, I can do all He asks of me. He asks me to come unto Him, learn from Him, and find rest in Him. He asks me to cast my cares upon Him. I can do this only in Him!

Now Christ is in me, and He is in you, believer! So you and I both can turn to Him who lives and dwells in us and ask that in Him, we would hand over our burdens to the Father, the God of all comfort, the Father of compassion, to the One who cares for us.

Remember, we cannot, but He can. The flesh cannot deal with the things of the spirit; only the spirit can deal with the spirit. Anxieties, worries, concerns, fears, doubts and burdens are matters of the spirit of this world, not the spirit of the Kingdom of God. We who are led by the Spirit are unequally yoked if we are burdened by the things of this world. So we are called to live by faith by the Spirit of God. By faith, we turn to our Lord and say, “I cannot, but You can”. “I cannot hand over these burdens, but Christ in me can”!

No matter what burdens you carry in your heart and mind today, dear brother or sister, I encourage you by faith to turn to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to enable you by His life which indwells you, to hand them over to God. He is willing, He is able, and He is waiting. I can guarantee, as is my testimony, the word of the Lord is true and that you will find rest for your soul.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28 -30, NIV).

In Christ! Again, I say, in Christ!