“Cast your burdens on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”
— Psalm 55:22
“God is not only more powerful than we imagine; He is more gentle than we dare believe.”
— A.W. Tozer
THE BEST PART OF THE DAY
There are few feelings better than coming home to the sound of your kids running to greet you.
You know it if you’re a parent. Their little feet slapping against the floor in full sprint from across the house. The uncontainable grin, they shout your name like you’re a hometown hero returning from war.
Lately my son has been doing something new. When I get home he runs at full speed, wraps his arms around my legs and then immediately lifts up his feet, dangling off the ground. He does it so quickly that often times I barely have the time to get my hands on him to make sure that he doesn’t fall. It turns into a bit of an awkward hug as he clings to my legs and press me hands into his back so that he doesn’t fall.
I asked him this past week why he always lifts up his feet like that. He looked up at me, smiled, and very matter-of-factly said, “Because you’re strong enough to hold me, Daddy.”
THE TRUST OF A CHILD. THE STRENGTH OF A FATHER.
If you’re a parent, you know that raising kids becomes a mirror. It always seems to reflect back spiritual truths in ways that pierces right to your soul.
That small statement from my son has been replaying in my head all week: “Because you’re strong enough to hold me.” When my son throws himself at me, there’s no fear of falling. No anxiety about whether I’ll catch him. No worry about my strength or stability.
Just a quiet assumption that I’ve got him.
And it’s made me ponder all week when the last time was that I ran to God like that. When was the last time I cast my burdens at His feet and lifted my feet off the ground, confident He’d hold me up?
CAST YOUR CARES
As you read through scripture you see that it doesn’t speak passively about what we are to do with the burdens and anxieties that we face in our lives. It doesn’t say things like manage your stress.
It says cast it. The word cast here is aggressive. It’s not some polite handoff, it’s a forceful throw with intent and direction. It’s the cry of someone who’s had enough. It’s the faith of someone who knows where real strength resides.
And it’s not just a command we should follow, it’s a truth we should take comfort in. Because behind the invitation to cast our burdens is a promise: We serve the creator of the universe who not only cares about the anxieties and burdens that we face… but happens to also be strong enough to do something about it.
HE CARES AND HE CAN
So often we believe one but not the other. We believe God cares, but we’re anxious about whether or not He will come through. Or we believe God can and is able, but maybe He doesn’t care enough to intervene in our lives. He probably has more important things to tend to.
But the gospel tells us both are true.
God is good and God is strong.
He’s the God who weeps at the tomb of Lazarus, and then raises him from the dead. He’s the God who calms storms and heals the blind, while also feeding the hungry and noticing the unseen.
He sees us. He feels for us. And He moves on our behalf.
He’s the kind of God I want to throw myself at. The kind of God I want to cling to like my son clings to my legs, feet lifted off the ground, held up by something stronger than me.
So friends, if you’re tired today…If you’ve been white-knuckling it…If you’re silently breaking under the weight of what you’ve been carrying
You’re not weak for letting go. You’re not failing by casting it. You’re obeying Scripture. You’re honoring your limits. You’re acknowledging what God already knows. That you were never meant to carry this alone.
Let God hold you. Let Him carry the weight. He won’t drop you.
A FINAL CHARGE
This week, cast your cares.
Name them. List them. Throw them.
Then lift your feet off the ground like a child clinging to the legs of his father. Let yourself be held, not because you’re strong enough to keep holding on, but because He is strong enough to hold you.
Your job isn’t to muscle through. It’s to trust the One who holds the weight of the world in His hands, and still chooses to carry you too.
He cares. He can. And He’s got you.
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