Laying Down Your Burdens

Laying down your burdens requires a powerful act of determination and a kind of spiritual surgery that only the Holy Spirit can perform. 

We see this illustrated in the book of Nehemiah. At the time, the Israelites had faithfully and diligently rebuilt Jerusalem’s gates. However, once the gates were built, the people completely overlooked the Sabbath observance. Every week, long lines of laden-down animals with merchandise passed through Jerusalem’s gates.

Nehemiah was angered when he saw all this activity on the Sabbath. He warned the people to lay down all their burdens and honor God, but when they would not listen, he stepped up his appeal: “Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, ‘What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?’” (Nehemiah 13:17, NKJV).

Finally, Nehemiah had enough and took drastic action. “So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day” (Nehemiah 13:19).

Nehemiah put sentries at the gates, yet the burden-bearing people would not be deterred. They camped out all night, carrying their burdens around as they waited for the gates to open (see Nehemiah 13:20). 

Beloved, your burdens will always be camping outside your mind, waiting for an opportunity to jump right back in. You may lay them down at night, but the same old worries and concerns will be waiting for you in the morning. 

So, what did Nehemiah do to stop all the burden-carrying? “Then I warned them, and said to them, ‘Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!’ From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath” (Nehemiah 13:21).

When Nehemiah came to the end of his endurance, he threatened force. That is what we are to do to keep all burdens outside the gates of our minds. We must cry out from our soul, “This isn’t God's way! I live in the day of Sabbath rest, yet my soul is anything but at rest. I must take dominion over these burdens at any cost!”