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Burdens

by Dr Jean Carter

 
The lifting of our burdens

 
Burdens can be funny things. You can have real or perceived burdens, you can have personal or borrowed burdens, but whatever type of burden you are carrying, it always seems to be a heavy burden.

When I was younger, one of my favourite pastimes was pack hiking. There was nothing more exhilarating than being able to put all necessities on your back and head off into the bush for a long weekend.  Many times we did not see any other hikers except for our own party. The basic premise was: If you did not have it packed on your back, you did not have it for the weekend.

One weekend we planned to hike from Girrakool to Patonga. We planned for an easy trip as we had some new hikers.

When we arrived at Girrakool, the afternoon was cool and pleasant and the packs light and manageable. We hiked into the evening and made our first camp without any problems. The next morning the sun came up promising to be a hot day. We broke camp and shouldered our packs once again. This time the packs did not feel as light as they did on Friday afternoon however they were still manageable. After hiking most of the morning the sun felt as though it had tripled in strength and the hardest part of the hike was just ahead. One of the new hikers had been complaining about the weight of their pack after the first two hours and, as the sun beat down and the track became steeper, the complaints about the weight of the pack increased.

After lunch we hiked down into a valley and then had the main climb out back onto the ridge. It was hot. There was hardly any shade. There was limited water. Our packs felt like a heavy burden. It was at this point that Jenny, our new hiker, refused to go any further. She stopped, sat down and wept. The burden was just too much.

This experience reminds me so much of how our burdens can appear to be manageable at the beginning but then when life 'heats up' our burden can become too much for us to bear. It is at this point that we need to look to Jesus, just as Christian did in the story of Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. Christian did not know how his burden got on his back, nor how to get it off. He was heavily weighed down and had to struggle along until he spied a cross on a small hill. He made his way to the cross and when he knelt down in front of the cross his burdens slid from his back and rolled into the open tomb.

When we look to Jesus He will take away our burdens. In 1 Peter 5:7 it says to 'Cast all your anxiety on him (Jesus) because he cares for you.' How wonderful our loving saviour is to willingly take our burdens.

Burdens are Lifted at Calvary
John M Moore

Days are filled with sorrow and care
Hearts are lonely and drear
Burdens are lifted at Calvary
Jesus is very near

Chorus:
Burdens are lifted at Calvary
Calvary, Calvary
Burdens are lifted at Calvary
Jesus is very near

Cast your care on Jesus today
Leave your worry and fear
Burdens are lifted at Calvary
Jesus is very near

Troubled soul, the Saviour can see
Every heartache and tear
Burdens are lifted at Calvary
Jesus is very near

Back to our hiking story, we were at the point where Jenny, our new hiker, refused to go any further. She had stopped, sat down and wept. The burden was just too much. At this point, the leader of the trip took off Jenny's pack and slipped his own arms into the straps to carry the pack in front of him. Even though he had his own pack, his own burden, he willingly lightened Jenny's burden by carrying her pack as well. This is just like our heavenly Father. When we feel like we cannot go any further and we stop, sit down and weep He comes along and gently takes our burdens.

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