Aug 05 2024

Afternoon Bible Verse

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Add to Favorites Share with Friend Afternoon Bible study

The average human can carry 23 percent of their body weight. This can be taken as a challenge for those of us who attempt to carry too much at one time. However, doctors and physical therapists recommend that we limit what we carry to no more than 15 percent of our body weight to reduce the risk of injury.

The weight we can carry emotionally or spiritually cannot be quantified. It's unnecessary to calculate it because God wants us to hand our burdens to Him to carry. It doesn't matter whether our burdens are small or enormous, all of them should be laid at the feet of Jesus. We can pray and release them to God and allow Him to put our minds to rest.

In Psalm 55, King David contemplates what it means to cast your burdens upon the Lord. He assures us that God will take care of us and will never allow us to fall away from Him. All we need to do is turn our troubles over to Him.

But there's another part to it we need to trust that God will handle whatever we've turned over to Him. It can be easy to tell Him about the difficult situations in our lives, but then continue to worry about the outcomes. When we cast our burdens on the Lord, we can rest in the knowledge that He already knows what will happen, and we can trust Him with the results.

Rather than micro-managing our burdens, our time is better spent learning to trust in the Lord. No load is too heavy for Him to carry. He will take care of us, sustain us, and never let us fall.

Afternoon Prayer

Lord, I desire to cast my cares on you and leave them with you, but I often find myself trying to manage my life's burdens on my own. I lay a burden down, but when I don't see anything changing in my favor, I pick it back up again. I know this shows a lack of trust in you, and that is not what I want. Give me wisdom for handling all of life's circumstances and help me release all my cares to you. In Jesus' name, amen.

Add to Favorites Share with Friend

Aug 04 2024

Yesterday Afternoon's Bible Verse

If ye love me, keep my commandments. :

Add to Favorites Share with Friend
Yesterday Afternoon's Bible study

Our human nature readily (often stubbornly) resists being told what to do. From the time we are toddlers until we are fully grown, our natural instinct is to be the one in charge and not the one being ordered around.

In John 14:15, Jesus comforts His disciples. He knows that it won't be long before He is crucified. Jesus is using every available opportunity to prepare His disciples for a time when He won't be with them.

While Jesus lived among the people, He demonstrated a love for God that could not be matched. He also modeled perfect obedience to God's commands. He did it with a servant's heart, rather than out of obligation.

As children, we have to obey our parents and teachers because they are in authority over us. When we are told to clean our room or do our homework, it doesn't matter if we want to or not, as long as we do it. It means so much more to our parents when we are obedient because we love them and want to please them.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we also agree to obey His commands. We have the opportunity to obey God because we love Him, not just because we have to. Whether it's in the small things or in significant ways, how we follow God demonstrates the condition of our heart.

Yesterday Afternoon's Prayer

Dear God, my heart's desire is to love you more than I love myself. Forgive me for the times I have disregarded your ways to follow my human nature. You always know what's best for me, so when I follow you, I can trust your leading without hesitation. May others see my willingness to do what you say and let it encourage them to do the same. Please give me the strength to obey you, even when it's hard for me. In Jesus' name, amen.
Add to Favorites Share with Friend


← View Last Verse View Next Verse →