What is a burden? Does the Holy Spirit give burdens? How can God have a burden? Even worse, why would God put His burden on me? Doesn’t the Bible say we should rather cast our burdens on Him? I keep hearing the word “burden” in charismatic circles now, and I’m beginning to sense the weight of one, but I don’t understand all this “burden” things.
If any of the above is a question ringing in your mind, this post is for you. It’s not just for your understanding, but also a call to participate.
Burdens of the Body
When you become hungry, your body gives you a burden. When you enjoy intimacy and take seed, the pregnancy gives you a burden. Anxiety produces a burden. Lack produces a burden. Anger is a burden. Strife is burdensome. Nonetheless, it is important to differentiate between burdens. First of all, there are burdens of the body, soul and spirit. The burdens of the body is what Jesus communicated clearly in Matthew 6:31; food, clothing, shelter. By mentioning the basic needs, He captures the heart of things we really need – not out of selfishness but – out of necessity.
Regardless, all men share these basic needs in common, as even Abraham Maslow also captured it in his theory on the hierarchy of needs of humans. Jesus also goes ahead to inform us that God is not pretending as if these burdens are not real or necessary. He actually says God the Father knows that we need them. The counterfeit of the needed burdens of the body is the unneeded cravings of the flesh. Such cravings want things that are out of bounds; privileges without responsibility, results without process, pleasures without restraints. This is why we need to beat our bodies into subjection.
Burdens of the Soul
The burden of the soul is for association, actualisation, relevance, acceptance and intimacy. Our will needs to know that there’s something to achieve and we are actually working to achieve it without overwhelming struggle. Our emotions are like tanks that need to be filled, and colours that need to be expressed. Our mind wants to engage in intellectual discourses and be part of a community where our efforts are considered, appreciated and are impactful. This is why God created all of us in a family. It is one of the reasons why we don’t need to neglect corporate gatherings.
We are a family, God’s family. Yes, you can worship God in your room but fellowshipping with each other is also an important part of the Christ-like life. Our soul will begin to degenerate when its burdens are neglected, unrecognised and/or unmet. A lot of humans carry a lot of burdens in their soul and most of them are even unknown to us; past traumas, unhealed hurts, unforgotten embarrassments, unhinged triggers and many suppressed emotions swept under the carpet. If we live by the dictates of the burdens of our soul, we can end up in ungodly associations just for the sake of belonging.
Burdens of the Spirit
Do you want to know God more? Do you want to draw closer to God like never before? Do you want to know what it means to be a friend of God? Those are burdens. It doesn’t originate from our body or your soul. The burdens of the Spirit cannot be sustained by willpower of the soul or the desires of the flesh. Whatever is sourced from the Spirit is sustained by the same Spirit. Is it uncomfortable like a burden of the body or soul? Oh, yes. Birth pangs will never make you comfortable. However, it is not stressful. It’s a call to participation.
After all the noise is gone, you can hear our spirit telling you to do the things God has placed on your heart. Do you hear your heart telling you that you must fulfill your God-given purpose because you can’t fail God? Those are the burdens of the Spirit. The more you listen and participate, the more the attention of your life will shift from you to Him. It’s not a burden you are made to carry alone. It’s a burden you are called to share in, and it’s easy and light. The role you play as a partner is powered, engineered, directed and completed by the help of God. When you choose to carry burdens of the Spirit, God will take care of your fleshly and soul burdens so that you are not distracted by them.
Exchanging your Burdens for His
There’s a platform for divine exchange. There are burdens of the spirit, of the soul and of the body. Jesus is telling us to give Him the burdens of our bodies and our souls and take the burdens of the Spirit. 1 Peter 5:7 said cast all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. The previous verse (1 Peter 5:6) told us to submit ourselves under God’s Mighty Hand. The burden of the Spirit is to see the Kingdom established in all the earth. When we seek His Kingdom first, He takes care of our cares.
See it this way; you are an ambassador sent by a Great Kingdom to this land to accomplish tasks for your King. Won’t He take care of you? Why are you worried about what you’ll eat? Did you send yourself? Unless you sent yourself, you have no reason whatsoever to worry. Once I submit to Him, He places His weight on me. His weight is His Hand, His Glory, His Burden. I, in turn, need not now carry the burdens of my flesh and soul. I leave the rest to Him so I enjoy His Rest. I want to make you a great nation but you’re worried you don’t have a son? My dear, this goes far beyond you. It’s about my eternal purpose. Heaven has already finalised that your lineage will be through which the Messiah will be born. See, what God has promised you goes beyond you.
LORD, what burden have You yoked You and I to? A yoke is what two oxen carry on their necks as they plow the harvest field. Both oxen are equally yoked so they can work together to achieve purpose. Imagine being yoked with God to accomplish His Will on the earth. That’s such an easy yoke and a light burden. Imagine God as your partner; that’s an ever-winning team. We are joint-heirs and co-labourers with God. I plant the Word, you water and God will make it grow. After planting, why should I worry that it’s not growing? So, which one of you by worrying could add anything to your life? (Matt 6:27). His burden is light because He is faithful, has never failed His part, already accomplished His part before you even came into the picture, and gives us mercy, strength, grace (in fact all we need) to accomplish ours.
Birth Pangs & Birthings
Burdens is how God draws us into Himself. Burdens will keep us exploring God for eternal blessings that eyes have not yet seen. We will not reduce the blessings of God to material things. It is eternal burdens that will keep you from settling for less because you see little results. Don’t stop as a fruitful field because you are a forest. God places a burden on parents to take care of their child at all costs. It is only the burden of Acts 1:8 that can cause the relentlessness of Acts 8:4. It is the men who carry burdens that are relentless. Consistency from the Spirit is not drawn from the motivation of the will. No! It’s because necessity has been placed on you to accomplish a task. That burden won’t lift, even if it takes 40 years, until God’s purpose is complete.
When a woman becomes pregnant, she is so excited. However, that’s not the manifestation. That’s the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. She has received a promise, having been impregnated in the secret place by the seed – which is the Word of God. That is only the beginning. What she has is the substance. A person who has never witnessed a pregnancy will be confused as to what she’s carrying. She knows for sure that she’s carrying a baby. She doesn’t doubt it. However, she cannot remove what’s inside of her and still get the baby she wants. It’s a process!
Sometimes you are not in a season of delay; the set time is simply not up. We don’t pray to reduce the process. We travail because we have birth pangs. We can’t sleep because we carry a burden within us. No amount of prayer can reduce a pregnancy period from 9 months to 9 days. It is painful but necessary. The substance ought to be fully formed in you. God is incubating something within you. He is cooking something that will change you. You are being changed to become who God is. It’s not just about birthing; your entire physiology is reshaping to accommodate not only the burden but the aftermath of birthing. Selah!
The burden of the Spirit is conviction. It arrests you. Once you yield to it, it won’t let you go until His work has been done. On the other hand, the burden of evil is condemnation. Once you yield to it, you will degenerate yourself into nothingness. Conviction arrests you and draws you deeper. Condemnation imprisons you and pulls you down. Your call will place a burden on you. There’s a promise God made to you and until you see it, you will continue to travail. As we rest from carrying the burdens of our body and soul, we will not rest until the harvest field has been plowed.
I therefore now entreat you! You are God’s partner. I charge you to participate and fulfill your God-given assignment. Go into the secret place and be impregnated with His Seed. Your pregnancy cause birth pangs and burdens. Travail until you give birth and the Word becomes flesh and dwells amongst us. Amen 🙏
Amen
God bless you 🙏🙏🙏