Only that small part, that's all

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly. (Psalm 146:8)

Burdens are meant to be carried by those designed to carry them. I have a wagon for yardwork, wheelbarrow for other types of yardwork, and a handcart for some other stuff. I cannot shovel soil onto the handcart, but it could carry a bag of it. I cannot mix mortar in the wagon because it has mesh sides and bottom, but it can carry pots of plants very well. Each of these items in my yard have a purpose - each was designed for a particular 'burden' or 'load'. The design matters as does the function. In life, we weren't designed to carry burdens - God planned to do that for us.

God lifts the burdens of those bent beneath their loads. This suggests there are loads that are greater than we were designed to bear, as well as their tremendous ability to bend us down under their weight. When we are bent down, can we look upward? Not all that well - we'd have to really strain to do it. A load or burden not only bends us down; it also might break us under its weight. A twig will only bend so far under the weight of ice and snow before it breaks. Once broken, the connection it had with its life source is interrupted, making the burden that much heavier and difficult to endure.

When we carry on under burdens we are not supposed to bear, we invite disconnection into our lives. We need to let go and take on only what God intends as our portion of the work. How do we know our portion of the work? The first thing we need to do is ask God for his perspective on the matter. Too often, we don't seek his wisdom until we are already buried under the load! If we ask as soon as the burden is apparent, we might just find out we aren't meant to pick it up, or that there is just a small, practical portion that we are to 'own' as ours. 

Once we ask for his wisdom, we need to listen, not just immediately act without any further direction. Sometimes we act, then ask, then act some more, then ask again. At some point down the line, we might just listen, but by then, we have taken on way more than we were supposed to carry! Burdens come, but they are likely 'shared' burdens, with God taking the majority of the load, and us doing whatever small part our obedience carries. Just sayin!