Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
The assurance that comes from this verse is indescribable. Just imagine if what it says is actually true, that you have a place to put all of your anxieties and worries.
I think most of us are overcome in life often because the opposite holds true in our daily rhythms. We don't have a proper place to put these things. Therefore, we carry them with us. If you're carrying your worry, your stress, and your anxieties constantly, that will be a heavy burden to bear and it will start to wear you down over time.
If there's really a place where I can put all of the things that are weighing me down so that I don't need to carry them, it will lead to lightness. It's such a simple imagery, but think about a backpack, and that backpack is slowly being filled throughout the day with brick by brick on top of one another.
Not all at once, but slowly accumulating bricks throughout the daily rhythm. By the end of the day, you're going to be carrying a bag that feels like it's going to drag you all the way down to the ground. What if I told you that it is possible to take that heavy bag off and put it on the table so you don't have to carry it today?
Imagine you said, You know what? Even though I know I can put it over there, I'm going to keep wearing it voluntarily, and I'm going to let it wear me down throughout the day. That's sort of what it's like for us following the way of Jesus when we choose to hold all of our cares and our worries and anxieties on our own, and never make time to bring them to the One who said that we can cast them at His feet.
Humble Yourself in the Sight of God
One of the things that's interesting about this verse is it flows together with the one before it and the one before this verse talks about how it's important for us to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He'll be the one that will exalt you. I think when you humble yourself, what that means is you put yourself in right position relative to God.
Humbling yourself isn't as much about you doing something to be humble, but it's really more about the idea of making sure that God is big relative to your presence. One of the things that actually isn't humble, and why these verses go together, is for me to think that I can solve all my anxieties, worries, and problems on my own.
One of the most important things for the follower of Jesus is remembering and allowing God to take care of us. It's almost as though we find the freedom in salvation in Christ, and then we know that He will sustain us moving forward, but we decide, You know what? I'll manage the backpack even though You're the One who said, give it to Me and I'll take care of it.
Trust Him With Your Worries
I don't know where you're at today, and I don't know what kind of bricks you're carrying around with you. I know that it might feel like there’s no way through the problems that you're facing and the anxiety that you're feeling. I want you to know there's a true landing place for that bag you're carrying.
He says, if you give Him those cares, He will provide the care you need to bring sustenance and strength and life and flourishing. Let's cast our cares on Him today. He cares for us. We can trust Him with our worries.
