The year I entered high school, a song that has become something of a standard was first sung: Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” It was a time of social unrest and war protests. The Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King had been assassinated. And then came the folk anthem about making one’s way through the mess:
When you're weary, feeling small;
When tears are in your eyes,
I will dry them all.
I'm on your side
When times get rough,
And friends just can't be found;
Like a bridge over troubled water,
I will lay me down. – Paul Simon, copyright, 1969
There is nothing like a friend in a time of trouble, is there? That person who offers concern, who helps us to see past the bleakness of this day to the hope of a new day, is indeed a kind of bridge. But troubles come that no friend can take away, that no amount of song can soothe, that will not be erased by calming words of concern. What then? I go to the fountain of life and there I find the wisdom of the One is ‘yesterday, today, and tomorrow’ for me. There I read this directive that invites the troubled person to make the choice of "casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7, NKJV)
The verb is one of action in the original language of the New Testament. It only appears twice and has the meaning of ‘throwing something down violently!’ We are urged to take those heavy burdens of life and throw them onto the shoulders of an Almighty God. The writer of the letter is Peter, the impulsive disciple whose faith, at first, was expressed in fits and starts! He responded to Jesus’ invitation to walk on water, then saw the waves and sank, saved only by the Master’s grasp. He followed Jesus on the night of His arrest showing more courage than all except John, but then his courage collapsed and he swore, “I never knew Him.” But, when the Holy Spirit filled him, he fearlessly preached on the streets of Jerusalem and led the disciples through the first decade of Christianity. Now he uses the same kind of language of action that is reflected in his personality. “Weighed down by concern, troubled by life? Throw it on the Lord! He is ready to care for you.”
Situations will arise that do not yield to your best efforts at finding an answer. People will act irrationally, disappointing and frustrating you. Disasters come – fire, flood, and disease – and we cannot understand why. These are the times to cast your care on Him! Fall on your face and give it up, letting go of control, releasing your need to know – not in resignation to fate, but in an act of faith that says, “Lord, I cannot carry it; please lift it from my shoulders.”
Here’s a word from the Word for this day.
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NKJV)
Go ahead, right now… take that heavy thing that is breaking your heart and imagine you have in your grasp. Got it? Now, with a toss heavenward say, “Here it is. Thank you for helping me carry it, Lord. Amen.”
______________________
There is no problem so big,
God cannot solve it.
There is no mountain so tall,
He cannot move it.
There is no storm so dark,
God cannot calm it.
There is no sorrow so deep,
God cannot soothe it.
If He carried the weight of the world
Upon His shoulders,
I know my brother, that He will carry you.
If He carried the weight of the world
Upon His shoulder,
I know my brother, that He will carry you.
He Will Carry You
Brown, Scott Wesley
© 1982 Birdwing Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing; Admin. by BMG Music Publishing) / BMG Songs, Inc.
CCLI License No. 810055
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