22 Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never allow the righteous to be shaken. (Psalm 55:22 CSB)

We have so many things that burden our soul. My mother-in-law has a great saying, “You are only as happy as your saddest child.” How spot on this statement is. When I speak about burdens, they may not always just be our own. We often, through empathy, carry the burden of others, especially within our family.

Work can also place a lot of burdens upon us. Not just from the workload we have, but often for our Christian concern for others. We share responsibilities and thus the burdens of others either directly or indirectly. Again, our empathy may see us taking on others burdens as our own.

And if our empathy levels are very high we can begin to take on the burdens of the world around us. This too can be God’s leading in us to take up His charge in matters such as the homeless, or someone we know who has suddenly found themselves cast out in some way, caring for the widowed and orphaned.

The beauty of all of this empathy we may have is that through it all God sustains us. His hand is upon us when we take on the cares of those around us. But He will not forsake us and He will provide the strength needed if we will but cast these burdens upon Him. This is what He specifically ask us to do. No to carry them ourselves, or for others, but to lay them gently at His feet.