By Tarsha R. Gunn
Main Scripture:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” — Matthew 11:28–30 (NIV)
Carrying the burdens of others can be super overwhelming.
It can feel like rest never fully comes, like we’re constantly tiptoeing around those who unknowingly add extra weight to our shoulders. Oftentimes, that weight isn’t even ours to carry.
We carry out of love. Out of compassion. Out of the deep desire to protect, especially when it comes to our loved ones. But in shielding them from every discomfort, we may unintentionally rob them of the very tools they need to grow, tools forged in the fire of trial, not in comfort. Just as they must learn to walk their own paths, so must we learn to trust that God is walking with them, even when we cannot.
In our own trials, it may feel like God has gone silent. But silence is not His absence.
He is near building endurance, fortifying faith, making a way in the wilderness, even when we see no road ahead.
And in time, the very pain we once wept over becomes the oil we pour into others, not because we have all the answers, but because we’ve been there.
We’ve survived. And through that survival, we’ve learned how to say: “You will too.”
But not every fight is ours to fight. Not every storm is ours to calm. Not every burden is ours to shoulder.
Please know that discernment is crucial. Without it, we blur the line between support and savior, a role only God can fill. When we take on what was never ours, we invite confusion, exhaustion, and misplaced guilt. But when we step back in obedience and trust, we make room for God’s peace to flood in for both us and those we love.
“Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7
You don’t have to carry it all.
You were never supposed to.
When we entrust both our own worries and the weight of others to the Lord, we move into divine alignment where we are strengthened to support others, not crushed beneath them.
Where we can serve with love and wisdom, without losing ourselves in the process.
Let go.
Lay it down.
And let God carry what was never yours to begin with.