Maybe you’re like me. When you’re bringing the groceries into the house, you feel legally obligated to find a way to get every single bag in on the first trip. You’ve got 12 bags on one arm and 15 on the other. You can barely fit through the door. Your fingers are turning blue. But oh my word… you’re not about to go back for a second trip! Sound familiar?
You’re carrying too much. And I’m not talking about gallons of milk and cans of soup. I’m talking about lugging around hurt, disappointment, bitterness, anger, challenges, and unforgiveness. When your hands are so busy carrying all of that pain, it’s hard to hold onto hope.
In Acts 27, we see Paul and those traveling with him caught in a fierce storm at sea. Look at what it says in verses 18-19 (NLT): “The next day, as gale-force winds continued to batter the ship, the crew began throwing the cargo overboard. The following day they even took some of the ship’s gear and threw it overboard.”
Why would they do that? They’re trying to lighten the load. When it came down to a choice between their survival and their stuff, stuff didn’t seem as important. So, they start tossing it overboard. As the ship’s load gets lighter, it’s able to sit higher on the waves, which means the boat wouldn’t take on as much water or put itself in more danger.
I wish lightening our load was as easy as throwing some stuff overboard. But it’s not. I’ve found that the first thing I want to do is sit and have a chat with a friend, complain to my husband, or have a conversation with my mom. Talking to trusted people is good, but they can’t carry the load weighing me down. They can support me and encourage me, but they can’t carry it. Only God can.
That’s why our first conversations need to be with God. The only way we can lighten the loads in our lives is by giving them to God, the One who can actually carry them. We have to give it to Him, not once. Not twice. But we have to toss it over to Him again and again and again.
When I’m afraid or worried about something happening in the world or in my home, I spend a lot of time throwing it overboard to God. Sometimes, my prayers are pretty and put together. But more often than not, they’re messy and tear-filled. I don’t have all the right words as I give all the fear to God. And then, before I know it, I find myself worrying about the same thing sitting at a stoplight. So I have to give it to God again. Only to be lying in bed that night awake and filled with anxiety. And I have to offload it to God again.
Every time we lighten our load by sharing it with the Lord, we sit a little higher in the midst of those crashing waves. Because we don’t have to carry that load anymore. God’s carrying it. And that becomes an anchor that helps us hold onto hope during the storm.