Tag Archives: give it to god

February 6, 2025 · 5:30 AM

Letting Go Of Trouble

Years ago my son was trying to pick up something that was too heavy for him. As he was struggling, I offered to help. He declined and kept trying. Again I offered help, but still he refused. He was determined to move it himself. Finally he asked for help. As I picked it up, he yelled his disapproval. Confused, I asked how he wanted me to help. He said he wanted to hold it, but I had to pick both of them up and carry them. He wanted me to carry the weight, but he wanted to be holding onto it.

I laughed, but I also thought, “How many times do I cry out to God with a heavy load, but want the same thing?” If you’re like me, you find yourself carrying loads that are too heavy for you. God is there wanting to help, but we want credit for carrying it. We want God to help, but we want Him to do it our way. We hold onto our troubles because we’re afraid to let them go, but God wants us to give them to Him. He wants us to release them so He can carry them.

Psalm 55:22 says, “Pile your troubles on GOD’s shoulders— he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out” (MSG). God wants to help us with our heavy loads, but we have to be willing to let go of them if we’re going to cast them on His shoulders. Letting go is the hardest part and it’s why so many of us want Him to carry us while we’re holding on to the troubles. We’ve all heard the phrase, “Let go and let God.” Maybe it’s time we started doing that. He’s more than capable of carrying your troubles if you’ll just let them go.

Photo by Matthias Münning on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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December 12, 2023 · 5:40 AM

Lifted Back Up

My wife and I made our first trip to Haiti a couple of years after the catastrophic earthquake of 2010. As we made our way out of Port au Prince, we drove through what was known as tent city where thousands of people who lost their homes lived. We made our way north to a village where we were going to be working with an orphanage. The village was very primitive. The people would carry a 5 gallon bucket for several miles each day to get fresh water. I remember seeing them carrying that heavy load all the way back and wondering how many generations have been bent over carrying water that far. The organization we were with wanted to ease that load on the people. The next year, we drilled a well and installed a reverse osmosis system so the people could have free water and not have to carry those buckets so far.

In Luke 13:10-17, Jesus encountered a woman while He was teaching in the synagogue who was doubled over. It says that she was this way because of a demon held her in bondage. Jesus decided to heal her even though it was the Sabbath. The leader of the synagogue reprimanded Jesus for healing her. He then responded by reminding him that each person in there had untied their animals at some point on a sabbath to lead them to water. He then said that this woman had been bound up and doubled over for 18 years under this load. Should she be untied and lifted up? The leader was ashamed, but the people and the woman rejoiced that Jesus lifted her up.

Psalm 145:14 says, ”The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads“ (NLT). Commentaries say that this phrase “bent beneath their loads” is referencing people who are doubled over under their worries, their duties or their trials. God is one who lifts people up. He doesn’t want to leave you bent over under the heavy load you’re carrying. In fact, in Matthew 11:28 He offers for you to go to Him with your heavy load and He will lift you up and give you rest. He will take that load you shouldn’t be carrying off your shoulders and give you His burden instead, which is light. God can release you today from the things that are weighing you down. Release them to Him today and ask Him to take the weight off your shoulders. He wants to lift you back up.

Photo by Aditya Saxena on Unsplash

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February 7, 2023 · 6:00 AM

Good Trade

There’s a scene in “Dances With Wolves” that I always remember. After Lieutenant Dunbar tells the Native American tribe that the buffaloes are moving through and they hunt, Dunbar is invited to their camp for a feast. After dinner, Wind In His Hair wants Dunbar to she a story again, but Dunbar is tired of sharing it. He sees that Wind In His Hair is eyeing his military jacket. He immediately takes it off and offers it to him. Wind In His Hair tries it on and loves it. He then takes off his chest beads and gives them to Dunbar, who puts them on. Wind In His Hair then hits hit chest and reaches across and pats Dunbar’s chest trying to communicate that he wants to trade. Dunbar accepts and says, “Good trade.” It reminds me that even though trades like that aren’t very common anymore, but we still make trades every day.

In Genesis 42, there is a severe famine in Egypt and it’s surrounding areas. Jacob and his sons are deeply affected by it. He hears that there is food in Egypt and sends ten of his eleven sons to get food. He refuses to let Joseph’s younger brother go. When they arrive, Joseph recognizes them, but they don’t recognize him. They ask for food, but he accuses them of being spies and locks them up in jail. He then agrees to let all but one go home until they bring back their other brother. When they tell Jacob.he refuses. He’s now lost two sons and Benjamin is his favorite now. They try to convince him to let them go back, but in verse 38 he says, “My son will not go down with you. His brother Joseph is dead, and he is all I have left. If anything should happen to him on your journey, you would send this grieving, white-haired man to his grave” (NLT). Jacob refused to let go of his son to trade him for food to live. It would take a long time before he let go, thereby delaying the blessing God had for him.

In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” God offers many trades with us. We give Him our burdens and He gives us rest. We give Him our sin and guilt and He gives eternal life. We give Him our old life and He gives us a new one. What are you still holding onto that God is offering a trade for? Don’t let fear or pride keep you from making a good trade. He takes our worst and gives us His best in exchange. Release it to Him today. By holding onto it you’re denying yourself the blessings He has for you in exchange.

Photo by Francesca Veronesi on Unsplash

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July 18, 2022 · 5:50 AM

The Lies Of Pride

Have you ever been at an event where it’s pretty much over and it’s time to clean up, but no one is helping? You pick up the chairs and tables. People move out of your way, but no one helps. Then you get down to the last few and people all of a sudden want to help. You say, “Don’t worry about it. I got it,” but I side you’re a little mad. Your thought process inside is that at this point, you want credit for doing the whole thing so later when you tell the story, no one helped you. It’ll get you more sympathy from whoever you tell it to, plus their rage at the lack of someone helping. That’s pretty much human nature to act and think that way, but it’s also prideful because you’re seeking full credit.

Pride is strange that way. It masks itself so that it doesn’t look like itself. In 2 Kings 5, Naaman had leprosy and wasn’t sure what to do about it. His servant girl that he had taken from Israel told him about Elisha. When he went to visit him, Elisha didn’t even come out to greet him. Instead he sent his servant out to tell him what to do. This hurt his pride. What’s more is that Elisha instructed him to simply dip in the Jordan seven times and he would be healed. Now his pride was on full display because he refused to do such a simple task for his healing. His servants convinced him to do it. When he got over his pride, he dipped in the water and was healed.

1 Peter 5:6-7 says, “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (NLT). Why are these two verses together? Because pride is often what keeps us holding onto our pain, worries and burdens. We like the sympathy we get and we’re too stubborn to ask for help with them. We’ll just handle it ourselves! However, God wants us to humble ourselves, admit we have cares, problems and worries so that He can help us. It takes getting over our pride in order to ask for help. It takes humbling ourselves to give them to Him. Don’t spend another day believing the lies of pride. Do what God asks and get your healing. He’s ready to take them from you and carry your burdens if only you’ll let Him.

Photo by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash

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September 1, 2021 · 5:49 AM

Displacing Worry

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Psychologists will tell you that worry is intended to protect us from fear. However, God did not intend for us to dwell on it or to let it consume us. When it stays at the forefront of my thoughts, it causes me to run scenarios over and over in my mind of things that will probably never happen. It keeps me up at night, drains my energy and robs me of peace. In a way, worry can be addictive. It can feel like if we’re not worrying about something, we don’t care enough. Thinking that way can cause us to get caught in a loop that feel impossible to break, but we must break it. We must learn to let it go and displace it with proper thoughts.

I love the way the Message unifies this passage of Scripture on worry. Philippians 4:6-9 says, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.”

Worry often is a sign of a lack of trust in Christ to work things out. Worry takes control of the situation and puts it in our hands. When we pray instead, we give it back to God where it belongs. Then we need to replace it in our mind with productive thoughts so we can get back to living the way God called us to. Worry isn’t just a harmless feeling. It has the power to disrupt how we’re supposed to live and trust in God. If you’re overwhelmed with worry today, begin to pray so you can hand those things and situations over to God. Verbalize that you’re giving them to Him and are trusting Him with the things you can’t control. Any time worry tries to make itself at home in your mind, remind it that you aren’t in control, but God is. Don’t let it take roots again. Fill your mind with praise, God’s promises and the things listed in Philippians 4:8.

Photo by Elijah Hiett on Unsplash

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May 6, 2021 · 5:30 AM

Releasing Stress

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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November 25, 2019 · 5:46 AM

The Right Hands

My eight year old son tries to be fiercely independent. He wants to do things himself without my help. I can see him sometimes working on something he can’t quite figure out. I watch his frustration begin to rise, and I say, “Bring it here. Let me try.” Of course he keeps trying getting more upset. I make my offer again. Nope, he wants to keep trying. That’s usually when frustration starts turning into anger. He then has the choice to make – he can walk away from it or he can bring it to me. Once he puts it in my hands, I’m able to do with it what he cannot. Many times I’ll set it up so that he can participate in finishing it. When that happens, both of us smile and are happy.

In Matthew 14, King Herod has John the Baptist beheaded at the request of his step daughter. Jesus was sad over the loss of his cousin and went into a remote area to mourn. While he was there, someone spotted him and started telling people where He was. Soon thousands of people made their way to Him for healing. As it was getting dark, the disciples asked Him to send the crowds away so they could get dinner in nearby villages. In verse 16, Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary – you feed them” (NLT). I’m sure the disciples panicked and got frustrated trying to figure out how they could do it. They found five loaves and two fish and told Jesus that was all they had and they couldn’t do it. That’s when Jesus said, “Bring them here.”

The difference in both of these stories is whose hands things were in. How long do we try to do things while Jesus is telling us, “Bring them here”? You can keep trying to do the impossible on your own or you can trust Jesus with it. You can get frustrated trying over and over or you can put it in His hands. The feeding of the 5,000 was a miracle because the disciples were able to say, “We can’t do it,” and then handed over what they had to Jesus. One of the most difficult things about faith is letting go. We are fiercely independent people who want to do things ourselves. At the end of the day we have to choose whether we allow that frustration to turn to anger or put action to our faith and trust God with it. He is able to do above and beyond what we are able to. If we will trust Him, He will often allow us to participate in the miracle.

Photo by Kate Remmer on Unsplash

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April 3, 2018 · 6:09 AM

All Access Pass

Have you ever met a person that you respected or admired, then got to have a real conversation with them? Then, at the end of the conversation, they gave you their number and said, “If you ever need anything, reach out to me.” I’ve had that happen a few times. I still have their cards, but I can tell you I’ve never called them. I’m too afraid that I’ll be seen as someone who abused the privilege of having access to them. I don’t want them to think I’m bothering them with a stupid request. So I hang onto my key to access them without ever accessing them.

The crazy thing is that many of us have that same attitude when it comes to accessing God. We think He’s got bigger problems to solve than ours. We reason that He doesn’t want to be bothered with our needs. We then try to justify, “He probably wouldn’t answer anyway.” So we hang onto our access to God, but we rarely access Him. I’m here to tell you that Jesus didn’t rip the veil between man and God for us to sit back. He invited us to come boldly into the Throne Room.

1 Corinthians 4:8 says, “You already have more access to God than you can handle” (MSG). Think about that. You and I have more access to God than we can handle. Access that He expects us to use. Whatever failures you point to, God can forgive. Whatever wisdom you need, God can give. Whatever problems you’re facing, God can resolve, but you have to access Him. You can’t just sit back and do nothing. Use your “All Access” badge, get into the Throne Room of Heaven and let God know your request.

God is able to handle the toughest problems of this world and your greatest need at the same time. You don’t need to feel ashamed or timid in approaching Him. His ways are not our ways and His wisdom is not our wisdom so He may answer in an unexpected way. Present your needs to Him without telling Him how to solve them. God is deeply concerned about the things you’re concerned about, and He has the power to resolve them. Don’t believe the lie that you need to leave Him alone. You have the access, now use it.

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

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October 29, 2015 · 5:30 AM

Peace Through Trust

  
Life is unpredictable. It’s full of uncertainties, crossroads, and unknowns. When we are facing these things in life, our minds get consumed looking for answers and wondering what tomorrow holds. It can suck the energy right out of you if you let it. I think that’s why Jesus told us in Matthew 6:34, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries” (NLT). He knew that with all of life’s uncertainties, we could easily get wrapped up in all the what if’s of life.

The truth is that even though you and I don’t know what tomorrow holds, God does. And He’s not worried. What is unknown to us is history to Him. He knows how it all plays out and He is in control. No matter what each day brings, we can trust that He has a plan for our lives and a path for us to walk down. Psalm 37:23 says, “The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” Not only does He direct our lives, He knows all the details that are unknown to us.

Trusting Him in those times is paramount to our peace of mind. Where worry consumes us, His peace frees us. We get peace in uncertainty when we trust that God is in control, that He has a plan for this time, and that He is directing our path. Stress and worry come from thinking we are in control, that God doesn’t care, or that He doesn’t have a plan. He gives you and I the ability to choose in this situation. Do we want to stress or do we want peace through trust?

I’m reminded of Proverbs 3:5-6 when it comes to trusting God in uncertainty. It says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way” (GNB). The word “trust”, in the original language, means to feel safe, be careless. In our most difficult times, we can feel safe and be carefree by trusting God. He will direct our path and show us the right way when the time is right. 

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