Are there burdens you carry that no one knows about? Difficult, heavy situations that trouble you and stymie you? Issues that cause you deep personal pain and sorrow?
I tend to be an upbeat person most of the time. But there are a number of life situations that bring me down. Quandaries with no apparent resolution. The impact of such issues can knock us to the ground. How are we to handle those secret sorrows?
Too Heavy to Carry
Recently, my wife and I were having a lovely, relaxed evening around the dinner table. Positive, enjoyable conversation. But somehow, one of our discussion points served as a reminder of a very painful family difficulty facing us. Cindi said to me, “Do you ever think about it?” The truth was that this agonizing situation had been on my mind earlier that day, and I had been battling discouragement over this secret sorrow.
As we talked further, I got sadder and sadder, and the burden of the situation weighed heavier and heavier upon my heart. Finally, I simply said, “Honey, I really don’t have any place to put this situation right now.” I excused myself from the table and went out to our front porch. As I sat alone, I began a conversation with the Lord.
“Jesus, this burden seems much too heavy for me to carry.” As I waited in silence, the following response from the Lord seemed to come clearly to my mind: “Why don’t you let Me carry it for you?” Jesus was offering to share the burden of my secret sorrow.
Handing Over Our Cares
As I considered His response to my prayer—so clear and so simple—a verse came immediately to mind: “…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). As I took time the following day to dig deeper into this verse, it led to the discovery of similar advice in the Old Testament: Psalm 55:22. “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved [shaken].”
I always try to determine the context for the verses I am studying, and this one was especially meaningful. David wrote this psalm in the midst of a painful personal crisis. The heading for Psalm 55 is: “Trust in God Concerning the Treachery of Friends.” Huge betrayal! In verse 4, David even said, “My heart is severely pained within me….”
The agony and consternation confronting David were so great that he didn’t know how to handle it himself. In this context of deep personal pain, here was David’s advice: “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you.” When we are facing severe agony of soul, only the Lord Himself can help us carry our secret sorrows.
Acknowledging the Hurt
Is this message hitting home for you right now? Perhaps your situation is like the one that emerged out of nowhere in the midst of a pleasant conversation with my wife. I had to admit that I had somewhat repressed this agonizing problem to the point that I didn’t realize how overwhelming it truly was for me. I wasn’t consciously aware of it.
Are you facing some secret sorrow like that right now? Maybe more than just one?
Later in this letter, you and I will take those secret sorrows to the Lord in prayer. But first, I want to provide some insights from Derek Prince’s teaching. The specific anecdote I quote also came to me the evening I was sitting in silence on my front porch.
Rolling It onto the Lord
In the following excerpt from Derek’s message, “The Prayer Orchestra,” he talks about “rolling our burdens onto the Lord.” The Scripture quoted by Derek is a different psalm than the one we have cited, but it applies perfectly to the theme of this letter.
“I’m sure you know Psalm 37, verse 5: “Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” The Hebrew for this is—roll your way on the Lord.
This became very vivid to me when I was working with students in East Africa. Sometimes we would run out of rice, and the students would have nothing for supper. So, I would have to go down to the local town in my little Morris Traveler station wagon and get two sacks of rice. They weighed two hundred and twenty pounds each, I think. (One of the things we wrestled with in Africa was that as soon as students started to get educated, they thought it was demeaning to do physical work. So, I used to demonstrate to them that this was not so.)
I would drive up to the kitchen, pick up one of these sacks, put it on my back and carry it into the kitchen. Well, it’s easier to get one of those sacks on than it is to get one off. Did you know that? So, I learned the secret is to roll it off.
That’s what the Lord is saying. When your way becomes too heavy for you and you can’t handle it, just roll it off onto the Lord and He’ll take care of it.”
Into the Right Hands
Back to the issue of those secret sorrows you and I have pushed down inside us. What do we do with them? From what Derek has said, and from the various passages we have cited, there is only one Person who can truly handle them. It is time for us to get our secret sorrows into the right hands. Are you ready to do that together in prayer?
Lord, I freely admit that I am carrying a heavy load from several issues that are simply too complicated and perplexing for me. I don’t have the emotional resources to handle them on my own. So, I am turning to You.
Lord Jesus, You know every detail of these matters. In fact, You know all the unseen and unperceived reasons behind each and every one of these problems. Even more, You have the solution for all of these dilemmas, and You alone are able to bring complete resolution to them.
Right now, as an act of deliberate faith, I roll these secret sorrows onto You. I place them firmly and squarely in Your hands. I will not pick them up again; instead, I will allow You to be the One to carry them for me.
Thank You, Lord, that You are able to handle these issues and carry them from this point forward. I entrust each of my secret sorrows to You. Amen.
A Sense of Relief
Do you feel a perceptible sense of relief from the prayer you and I have just offered? You certainly should, because we have just transferred the huge weight of those secret sorrows to the One who alone is able to sustain us as we face them.
All of us here at Derek Prince Ministries extend our complete support for the decision you have just made. If we can supply any additional encouragement or help, it would be our greatest honor. One way we do so is by providing materials for you.
Please make sure to take advantage of our free MP3 of the message we quoted by Derek, “The Prayer Orchestra.” Along with the pertinent insight he shared, Derek provides helpful teaching on the many types of prayer we can put to use in our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is sure to be an uplifting message for you.
Let me take this moment to express our profound thanks to you for linking up with us through Derek Prince Ministries. Your prayers and financial contributions are such a tremendous encouragement to us. We want you to know how much we appreciate you.
Shining the Light
Has the Lord used this letter to shed light on a burden that has weighed you down? Perhaps, like me, you weren’t even consciously aware of how much pain it has been causing you. My father-in-law, Don Basham, used to say, “The Lord doesn’t turn on the light to hinder but to help.” I pray His incomparable help will be your portion today.
May the Lord use what is written here to bring light to the painful issues you have been carrying on your own. Once His light has been shed upon those areas, what step do you and I take? We roll them over to the One who alone can carry our secret sorrows.
