Daily Bread

And I said: ‘O that I had wings like a dove,
for then would I fly away and be at rest.
‘Then would I flee far away
and make my lodging in the wilderness.
‘I would make haste to escape
from the stormy wind and tempest.’
Cast your burden upon the Lord and God will sustain you,
and will not let the righteous fall for ever.

I find comfort in that there is every kind of emotion found in the words of the Bible, and that there is no feeling or thought barred from being expressed towards God. On a few occasions, when filled with righteous anger, I have given both barrels to God, and have not held back. God is big enough and can take it.

In Psalm 55, the writer is in anguish and crying out to God, and who hasn't, when experiencing troubles and distress, thought about running and getting away from it all?

Back in 2015, when I was having a break-down, when my marriage was collapsing, and I couldn't cope with the trauma of illness and debt, I would lie in my bed and cry out to God, and then to sleep, I would, like the Psalmist, imagine myself in a place far away in a wilderness where I could be alone — a peaceful, quiet place away from all my troubles. I painted a picture in my mind of several places, including a cabin in a pine forest by a beautiful mountain river, and a small deserted tropical island in a vast ocean. Today, I still go to those places when my thoughts are hijacked and I struggle to sleep.

The truth is, however, that most often we cannot escape our anxieties, and although sleep provides a brief respite, we still have to cope with each day as it comes along, carrying our burdens with us. Yet, the Psalmist reflects on what truly brings respite, and that is to cast one's burdens upon the Lord.

Being a very visual person, I have found the following exercise to be helpful, and perhaps you will too. I close my eyes and I place all my burdens — naming them one by one — into a shopping trolley, and then once they are all inside, I wheel the trolly up a gentle slope to the foot of the cross, whereupon I leave it and walk away. This is how I 'cast my burdens upon Jesus' and it is a form of prayer — in fact, I think visualising prayers like this can be a very powerful and healing.

Friends, Jesus is right with us in the boat (so to speak) as the storms of life rage around us, and when a boat is in distress, the sailors often cast their payload, weight, or 'burdens' into the sea, however Jesus says, "Cast them unto me."

"Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest."

Holy God
Although the storms of life rage around me,
and I am tossed and turned by wind and tide,
I cast that which is weighing me down
— my burdens and anxieties —
at the foot of your cross, Jesus.
Please grant me the rest
for which my soul so desperately longs.
For I am yours and you are mine.
Now and forever.