surrender. release. be free.

be free of your burdens

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you…” Psalm 55:22

Entering into a new year is full of excitement and promise.

New years excite me and make me eager about what’s in store. But change can spur on fear and bring out questions.

Personally, I’ve had a number of things run through my head as we entered into the new year:

“Where am I going to work? How am I going to provide for myself? Am I even prepared or able to do what I feel as though the Lord has placed on my heart? Who is going to stick by my side? Will the Lord be pleased with me? Am I any different from the previous year? Am I even capable?”

Friends, this life isn’t proven to be easy. Our burdens are very real and they don’t just disappear as we enter into a new year.

Most of us have been stretched and challenged. This is necessary for our growth, but nonetheless is hard. We’ve been overwhelmed that life is full of unknowns and we can’t see the way with 100% clarity.

I know that feeling. I thought as I was getting fresh perspective heading into this year that life would become easier.

NOPE.

These thoughts and these questions are constantly in my mind, making me feels as though I’m not good enough – as a daughter of God, a certified teacher, a friend or a daughter/sister.

I’m sure many of you have felt these weights of life.

But what the Lord has been impressing upon my heart is this:

Hold up that white flag. Surrender. Fully.

That’s the thing. We can’t go into this year without fully giving up. Giving up all our fear and all our doubts.

He calls us to give it up when we can’t see what’s ahead of us, when we aren’t in control of the situation we want to be or when we’re filled with the crippling fear of “can I actually do this?”

Yet, we so foolishly allow our fear to overcome us.

Feeling the weight or these fears is perfectly normal, yet it is our response that is pivotal. We go through trials and testing, where we feel overburdened and defeated, to remind us that there is a God who sees us through.

And it isn’t whenever He feels like it – HE ALWAYS SEES US THROUGH.

Despite how we may be feeling, He wants our eyes to be fixed solely on Him and He wants the burdens of what we so selfishly have been carrying by ourselves.

Give Him your sorrow, your joy, your sadness, your worries, and your fears. The glorious promise of doing so is that we can never burden the Lord with our own burdens.

He wants to take them for us, He wants to unravel the burdens of defeat so that He can show us there is victory in casting our all upon Him.

And it isn’t just handing them over, but rather tossing them to the Lord, fully letting go, saying, “I can’t do it on my own anymore. Take it completely.”

Let’s begin to raise up our flags of surrender, pleading for Him to take it all, and start moving forward in this journey of surrender with open hands.

As we begin to move forward, we are given the enduring promise that God will sustain us.

It isn’t a promise of removing us fully from the hardship we endure, but rather the promise of His presence remaining with us through it, equipping us with His strength to rise victoriously in His victory.

And He is always faithful to fulfill His promises and His purposes as we continue to cast our burdens on Him.

So yes, we all have concerns and worries that infiltrate our minds on a daily basis, but it shouldn’t be used as an excuse to not surrender. 

Surrender your burdens and trust the rest to Him. He’s waiting and He won’t permit those who trust in Him to be moved.

Don’t be afraid to admit you can’t do this year on your own. He is fully capable and that should give us hope for 2020.

– Becca Imondi