“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalms 55:22

I once heard a wonderful analogy of the choice between living in freedom vs. bondage. In South America, Africa, and Asia, the natives devised an effective method of trapping monkeys. They take a gourd or some similar object and drill a hole just large enough for a monkey’s hand to pass through; they add some extra weight to the gourd by putting some sand or pebbles, a treat such as nuts or fruit inside, and next they put he gourd just where the monkey will easily find it.

When the monkey sees the treat, he readily sticks his hand through the hole to get the food — but he becomes entrapped when trying to pull out both his hand and the food, so the desire to have the treat keeps him holding on and captured…the sad part is if he would only let go! The animal trades freedom for bondage for only a small piece of food!

The arch-enemy of our souls is just waiting for us to fall prey to his lies that lead to entrapment…stealing our freedom of mind, heart, body, and soul. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” 1 John 2:16-17. Attitudes of arrogance and self-sufficiency can lead us to cling to possessions and the desire for all that glitters in this world, unwilling to let go at the expense of possible physical, mental, or spiritual bondage.

You may be thinking, that doesn’t apply to me; I am grounded in my faith. However, even if we possess a humble and faithful spirit, we can become encumbered with the hurts, disappointments, and different concerns of life that can so easily get us down. It is then that we too become endangered, just like the monkey who refuses to let go. Yet, the word of the Lord gives us light out of the darkest of circumstances, reminding us to “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalms 55:22.

Life happens, my friends; it is our choice in how we deal with the circumstances, which makes all the difference. Sickness, hurts, financial or physical loss, separations, mental anguish, and the list goes on, do happen to the best of us. But no one ever promised that we would run this race with ease. One songwriter wrote these precious and truthful words: Must Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for everyone, and there’s a cross for me. 

Job endured tremendous loss, but God’s grace sustained and blessed him. As Job 42:10 states: “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.” Despite suffering and ridicule from loved ones, Job trusted God and surrendered his will to God’s.

What about us, what cares and concerns are we allowing to weigh us down? These are the things that rob us of the freedom and peace that we have in the amazing grace of God. Philippians 4:6 admonishes us to “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

God knows exactly what is going on in our lives; we must willingly release our circumstances into His all-powerful hands. “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9. And most important of all, He has promised to never place any more on us than we are able to bear; we can walk in the peace of knowing that God has it all in control.

So, let us go in prayer, casting all our cares on Him. Which means letting go, leaving them at the foot of the cross. Jesus will work them out by the counsel of His divine will. Never forget that He loves us and has only the best planned for us. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11.

Blessing and peace be with you always.