Burdens Aren’t Meant To Be Rolled
“Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.” Proverbs 16:3
As I read the above verse in our Proverbs for today, I first thought about the blessings of a quiet, calm, “established” mind. Then, my eyes went to the center column of my Bible where the Hebrew word for “commit” was given -> “roll”. Matthew Henry’s comments on this verse are as follows:
“Note, 1. It is a very desirable thing to have our thoughts established, and not tossed, and put into a hurry, by disquieting cares and fears,–to go on in an even steady course of honesty and piety, not disturbed, or put out of frame, by any event or change,–to be satisfied that all shall work for good and issue well at last, and therefore to be always easy and sedate. 2. The only way to have our thoughts established is to commit our works to the Lord. The great concerns of our souls must be committed to the grace of God, with a dependence upon and submission to the conduct of that grace (2Ti 1:12); all our outward concerns must be committed to the providence of God, and to the sovereign, wise, and gracious disposal of that providence. Roll thy works upon the Lord (so the word is); roll the burden of thy care from thyself upon God. Lay the matter before him by prayer. Make known thy works unto the Lord (so some read it), not only the works of thy hand, but the workings of thy heart; and then leave it with him, by faith and dependence upon him, submission and resignation to him. The will of the Lord be done. We may then be easy when we resolve that whatever pleases God shall please us.” ~ Matthew Henry
Reading the above caused me to think back on times when I have literally had to roll something from one location to another. An object that needed to be moved yet was too heavy to pick up – I had no choice but to roll it.
Unfortunately, that is what we do so often with the cares of this life. Instead of immediately giving them to the Lord, we carry our burdens around as long as we can. But, the longer we carry them the heavier those burdens seem to become. And, just as a person is stooped over while lugging around a heavy object, so do we become stooped over from within. Heavy burdens produce heavy hearts. Proverbs 12:25 says, “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop…” and when reading this verse, I can picture a person who has carried a burden for so long that they are now stooped over…rolling that heavy burden along. You know what? An individual in this type of situation can only go so long before they completely wear out.
Does this describe you this morning? Roll that burden on over to the Lord and leave it there once and for all. Now, straighten back up and walk away from the heavy load that you’ve carried…or even rolled…for so long. It’s ok – it’s in God’s hands now. Leave it there. You can trust Him.
And, when the next trial presents itself (brace yourself – there’s another one on its way), don’t wait until it becomes so heavy that you are forced to stoop down and roll it. Burdens aren’t meant to be rolled. Right when it “falls into your lap”, pick it up and CAST IT IMMEDIATELY upon the Lord!
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22