Yesterday a bit before noon I was all of a sudden burdened with a heavy weight. It was almost suffocating it felt so heavy. We’ve been talking about spiritual warfare, being strong in the Lord and prayer. So yesterday when wave after wave of burdens and heartache for several friends and a family member came upon me, I realized what was happening. I believe the Lord put these people on my heart.

Almost simultaneously, I also had thoughts of depression for myself: I was overwhelmed. I know those depressing thoughts didn’t come from the Lord, so I thought back to His Word: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5) As I said, I believe the Lord put my friends and family member on my heart, now what was I going to do about it? The temptation was to wallow in the burden and try to figure out how I was going to help.

So I reread the post I wrote yesterday, Best Way To Lift Others Up? Prayer and Trust!, and I did just that! I took my burdens to the Lord, submitted the outcome to our sovereign Lord and trusted in Him, knowing that He is doing amazing things that I can’t see for His glory. Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

When someone is laid upon our heart by the Lord, we are called to pray, to trust, and to encourage. We aren’t called to “fix” something for them. The ending paragraph from yesterday (written by Kimberly Henderson of Prov. 31 Ministries) says it all: “So instead of trying to pull you out, I’m lifting you up. I’m kneeling before the Father and I’m asking Him to give you strength. To give you hope. I’m asking Him to protect you and to move you when the time is right. I’m asking Him to help you stay prayerful and discerning. And I’m believing He’s going to use your life in powerful and beautiful ways. Ways that will leave your heart grateful and humbly thankful for this road you’ve been on.” 

Almost immediately as I ended my prayer, the weight of the burden was lifted; I could breathe! I went on with the rest of my day completely trusting the Lord is dealing with the issues in my friends and family member’s lives, and my “job” is to lift them up to our Father and submit to His will. I was actually even able to talk with each of them (not with a plan of attack), but with words of encouragement. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thess 5:11)

This morning on my drive to work it felt like the Lord spoke to me through the lyrics of a song, particularly the last verse and the chorus. It reminded me that the Lord is in charge, and there will be heartache, but He is working everything out for our good. It’s from “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again” sung by Danny Gokey:

Let every heartbreak
And every scar
Be a picture that reminds you
Who has carried you this far
‘Cause love sees farther than you ever could
In this moment heaven’s working
Everything for your good

Tell your heart to beat again
Close your eyes and breathe it in
Let the shadows fall away
Step into the light of grace
Yesterday’s a closing door
You don’t live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you’ve been
And tell your heart to beat again