I can’t carry this burden alone anymore.

March 18, 2014: I can’t carry this burden alone anymore. Please share this new Precious Prodigal Post: http://bit.ly/1mfZEC3

2 Kings 19:1 “And it came to pass, when Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.”

It’s hard to know when to fix or correct a situation and when to just take it to the Lord and trust Him to do what He thinks needs to be done. When you love a prodigal or you’ve made a mistake yourself, shame is often part of the mix, and that makes it even harder, doesn’t it? You might be the kind of person whose first thought in trouble is to start a prayer chain. But if you’re a leader or a parent, you should have the answers. Shouldn’t you? Isn’t it a sign of weakness if you don’t know what to do in a desperate situation or are powerless to do it?

For Hezekiah, King of Judah, the situation couldn’t have been more desperate. The Assyrian king had taken all ten tribes of the northern kingdom into captivity. Only a remnant…the two tribes of Judah…remained, and the Assyrians had captured all the walled cities of Judah except Jerusalem. Now Jerusalem was surrounded, and the Assyrian king blasphemed God and threatened to overtake the city.

Now that’s a desperate situation. Hezekiah compared it with being in the agonizing pain of labor and coming to the birth with no strength left to deliver the baby. Regardless of what we do, life sometimes beats us up, so you can probably relate to that kind of fear and pain and desperation. What was the king going to do?

The first thing Hezekiah did was to humble himself and go to the Lord himself. When you’re faced with a situation that’s too big for you and you can’t do anything, it makes sense to take it to the One who can. I wish I could tell you it’s always my first reaction to run to the Lord when something happens.

However, that wouldn’t be totally honest. I sometimes…maybe even often…spend some time reasoning and intellectualizing it, looking for answers in my own strength or knowledge or experience. Then I have to pace the floor, wringing my hands and wondering how in the world I’m going to solve it. Finally, as some point (usually when I’m miserable enough), I take it to the Lord.

Our prayers don’t need to be long or eloquent or beautiful. They don’t even need to be spoken. The Holy Spirit knows that we’re weak and that we can’t pray as we ought. So He takes our whispered, bumbling words or the words of the heart lifted up to God and intercedes for us with “groanings that cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26) Sometimes it can be as simple as, “God, help me!” If that’s all you can pray right now, it’s enough.

What burden are you trying to carry alone today? Aren’t you weary of trying to do in your own strength what can never be done? I know I am. Maybe the time has come for us to stop trying to do it ourselves only to fail over and over again. Maybe we need to give it to the One who cannot fail.

Challenge for Today: Can you, just for today, let go of that burden you are carrying? Can you give it to the God, who loves you and is waiting to carry it for you?