Which Concerns Burdens


The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband.--Ruth 1: 9.

Rest in the house of a husband! Burdened with household responsibilities, how can a wife find rest? I have frequently been in homes where the wife, with servants to carry on the work of the household, was relieved of all care. These care-free wives, I have observed, are usually restless.

If all our burdens were taken from us, life would soon lose its interest and cease to be a challenge to us; we would soon find ourselves being tossed about by every wave that rolls, like an unladen ship out on a rolling sea.

An old grandfather’s clock had been ticking off the time for generations. Its momentum came from a heavy weight suspended by a double chain. The owner thought it was too bad that such an old clock should have to bear so great a load. So, he removed the weight. The ticking stopped. The old clock, by ceasing to tick, seemed to say, “Put my weight back, It is what keeps me ticking.”

Have we not often noticed how, when a man grows old and retires and is left with no load to carry, he begins to lose strength and soon ceases to tick? To avoid that, the retired old man should take on a load of some kind. He can find open doors for many little acts of kindness and useful services, and thus find new interest in life. And he has the opportunity to build a better person. There is a new growth possible in old age. This is a challenge to keep the aged ticking.

The Hebrew word for burden signifies that the burden is a gift.

Our burden is a gift from God, intended to bless us, not to break us.

The word “strain” has a double meaning. It may mean a burden, the strain of which is hard to bear; but it may also mean a charming bit of music, the strain of which is a delight. Is it too much to say that God enables us to bear the strain of the burden because of the music in the strain of the song?

David testified that, at a time when he was under a great strain, the Lord put a new song in his mouth (Ps. 40: 1-3).

A song in the heart helps us to bear our burdens--makes our load seem lighter.

One of life’s greatest joys is in bearing burdens.