Burdens

Galatians 6:2 NIV Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

One of the most beautiful things about living a life of surrender to Jesus, fully redeemed by his precious blood, is that you are never alone. Soon after the creation of man, God spoke, “It is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). God promises to never leave or abandon us, to guide us, to walk with us through everything in life, and to carry our burdens. Psalms 68:19 TPT proclaims, “What a glorious God! He gives us salvation over and over, then daily he carries our burdens.”

God also connects you with other Christ-followers so we can strengthen and encourage one another. We should be taking up and carrying away the heavy weights that have others burdened down. In other words, no one should ever go through situations alone. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NIV states, “Two are better than one: If either of them falls, one can help the other up.” For every person, there will come a point where you are overwhelmed by the weight of life. In those moments, you need someone there to help you carry that weight.

Those burdens can be a physical task that is too much for someone to do alone. “Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. They went up to the roof, took off some tiles, and lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus” (Luke 5:18–19). We are then told that Jesus saw their faith. Not the faith of the sick man but the faith of his friends, which led Jesus to proclaim, “Rise up and walk!" The faith and power of friends carrying his burdens led to miraculous healing!

The Good Samaritan, despite social and cultural barriers, reached out and carried the burden of a Jewish man in need. “Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he cared for him” (Luke 10:34). In this story, the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan saw the need and made an intentional decision. It is not our job to rescue everyone, but when the Lord brings that person across your path, you will know it, and it will require a purposeful decision to either carry their burdens or to ignore the need. The common requirement is this: to carry someone’s burden, you must be willing to be inconvenienced, to go out of your way, to give time and energy to help someone.

Jesus came to carry our burden. 1 Peter 2:24 states, “Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by his wounds that you have been healed.” Jesus lifted the weight of sin and sickness, a burden too heavy for us to ever bear, and He carried them completely away. When Jesus called, “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28–30), He was calling to each one of us. We are all carrying a burden we cannot bear. But good news: His yoke is easy and light, and we will find rest for our souls.

So, what does it mean “by this we fulfill the law of Christ”? The law of Christ was to love the Lord with all our being and love others as ourselves. When we surrender to Christ, allowing Him to carry our burden of sin, and we purposefully choose to walk beside others and extend our hand to carry their burdens of grief, sorrow, and sickness, we are fulfilling the call of Jesus to be light and salt in this dying world. You will never know the burdens that has someone weighed down until you ask.

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Gary and Sandy Anthony

Romans 15:1-2 TPT Now, those who are mature in their faith can easily be recognized, for they don’t live to please themselves but have learned to patiently embrace others in their immaturity. Our goal must be to empower others to do what is right and good for them, and to bring them into spiritual maturity.

Psalms 55:22 NLT Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

1 Thessalonians 5:14 NLT Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone.

John 13:34-35 NLT So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.

Ephesians 4:32 NLT Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Romans 15:1 NIV We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

Philippians 2:3-5 AMP Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility, regard others as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus.

Acts 15:10 TPT So why on earth would you now limit God’s grace by placing a yoke of religious duties on the shoulders of the believers that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?

Acts 20:35 NIV In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Galatians 6:1-3 NIV Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.

Galatians 5:13-14 NIV You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: Love your neighbor as yourself.

Luke 11:46 NIV What sorrow also awaits you experts in religious law! For you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden.

Exodus 6:7 AMP Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who redeemed you and brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

Hebrews 12:1 NLT Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

1 Peter 5:6-7 TPT If you bow low in God’s awesome presence, he will eventually exalt you as you leave the timing in his hands. Pour out all your worries and stress upon him and leave them there, for he always tenderly cares for you.