Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you;

He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

Psalm 55:22 NASB

Due to my battle with Parkinson’s, I have had many moments of anxiety…anxious thoughts…especially after I first received the diagnosis. What exactly does the word anxiety mean? It simply means ‘a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome’. If we are all honest, we all have moments of anxiety from time to time. Some more than others.

There are a few things I do when I am feeling anxious, especially as it pertains to my illness. First, I must mentally determine what is truth - what is real - and what is not truth. It is in the knowing of truth (John 8:32) that we are set free. There are several things I do to initiate the process of knowing the truth and separating the lies of the enemy from the truth of God.

Typically, I share my anxiety with my wife. She speaks truth to me and points out lies I am believing…and anxiety is replaced with peace. I also understand that fear of the unknown - vain imaginations - can lead me to debilitating episodes of anxiety. In such moments, I practice speaking truth to my own soul by simply believing God LOVES me no matter what…that He is with me no matter what…that He intends to use even my illness for good. My go-to weapons are the Word of God and intimate worship of Jesus. I do not get to decide if God loves me. He IS love! My only two options are to reject that love or to receive that love. Receiving that love - being fully embraced by the loving presence of God - almost instantly eradicates that fear.

One thing I want to make clear is that I do not have to go through the battle for my thoughts alone. As I have said, I share my battles with my wife and with my family and with my friends and church family. But ultimately, the battle belongs to the Lord! He fights for me and with me. He loves me…no matter what.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 1 John 4:18 NASB

One thing is for certain in our relationship with the Lord. We cannot fully hold on to or cling to Him when we have our grip firmly around our anxious thoughts, our fears, our doubts, our sorrows, our wounds, our conflicts with others, along with emotional dependence on things that will not last. I also find it difficult to let go of burdens I carry for other people. Reality is that we cannot have our burdens lifted if we never share them with another…if we never truly share them with the Lord…if we continue to cling to those anxious thoughts.

Through the years, I have come to realize and recognize that every feeling I have is attached to a thought I am thinking. What I have discovered is that I can literally change the way I feel by changing the way I think…by replacing wrong thoughts with right thoughts. This has been a breath of life-giving fresh air during times when I have felt I was drowning in fear or anxiety. It is called renewing one’s mind…and it is a basic principle of God’s Word…and it does not depend upon my circumstances. The truth is we are people of choice. We can choose what we think about. We can choose how we will respond to circumstances even if we have no choice as to the circumstances we are facing. I have Parkinson’s. So? I choose to believe God loves me and will use it for my good. Truth sets me free. The love of God casts out fear. My anxious thoughts give way to peace.

It is impossible to let go and let God if we never let go of the burdens we carry. And just how do we do that? We get honest with ourselves and we get honest with the Lord. We learn to tell Him what we are thinking and how those thoughts are making us feel. A burden shared is a burden that becomes bearable. In my own life, I do not sleep well if I carry burdens to bed with me. If I have a personal fear or am anxious about something, I cannot sleep until I get it out of my mind and place it in the hands of the Lord. I admit my burden and then release it to Him, entrusting it into His able hands, and take it off of my list. The truth is I am nobody’s savior and nobody’s redeemer. I basically give those jobs up to the one Who IS the Savior and Redeemer.

God’s word tells us that He will daily bear our burdens – if we will let Him. When we hold on to sin or even the burdens we feel for people or situations, God can’t carry them. We must learn to cast our burdens - our anxieties - upon the broad, loving shoulders of our heavenly Father.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden,

The God [who] is our salvation. Selah

Psalm 68:19 NASB

We need to be honest about something else as it concerns to carrying burdens - casting our cares and our anxious thoughts upon the Lord. We will need to do this as often as necessary. I have to do it daily…and I encourage you to do the same. Take this from the Word of God and memorize it and speak it to your own soul every day as needed:

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 NASB

The bottom line is that God loves you deeply and massively and cares for even the smallest details of your life. Trust Him. Just let go and trust Him. Kick anxiety and fear to the curb and hold fast to the One Whose love will not let you go…and move on down the road with joy…

Dennis Jernigan

To hear a song and a short podcast on this subject, listen to The Dennis Jernigan Podcast at http://podcast.dennisjernigan.com/e/cast-your-burden/

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