Psalm 16 - When I'm Carrying Too Much

Summer in the Psalms

Oh hey, short on time? No worries! I'd love to join you on your commute or daily walk/run, or shoot, even while you take care of that to-do list. We can't let these things get in the way of this friendship. It's just starting to get good! Click below to listen.

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My attempt to "do-it-all" shines brightest when it's time to carry in groceries. Sure, it's a lot and it's heavy, and yeah, I pushed it in a cart at the store, but now that it's time to carry it in the house, I decide to do this all in one trip. Deep breath.

Do you do this too? Maybe not with groceries but with all the various bags and burdens you carry for the day?

This tendency is something my friend, Bethany Kimsey has experienced too. She's sharing her reflection of Psalm 16 to help us surrender this load we're carrying to God and experience His freedom and the lightness He offers us today.

As a mother to 8 children, Bethany Kimsey has seen God radically change her messy motherhood from weary, anxious, and frantic to peaceful, joyful, and triumphant. She helps weary mothers win the battle against worry and fatigue as they understand their identity in Christ and rest in the hope of the Gospel in community with other moms. As a writer, speaker, and encourager of mothers, she wants to see a generation of mothers who can connect their motherhood to the love of Jesus in real and practical ways so that they can be confident. 

She recently authored A Warrior Mama’s Prayers journal to help mothers pray intentionally over their children and anchor in gospel truths. This can be purchased at www.Bethanykimsey.com or on Amazon.

She would love to connect over at her website, bethanykimsey.com, or on The Warrior Mama podcast https://whengodbreaksthrough.libsyn.com, found on your favorite podcast platform. You can connect on Instagram or Facebook as well. 

I lunged out of the car, strapping on my work bag and purse. I stacked the grocery sacks filled with tonight’s meal down my arm and fumbled to add my gym bag and the baby’s diaper bag because I did not have the energy for more trips. Staggering into the house, my overwhelmed heart matched my arms. All the expectations and necessary roles I played were highlighted in my burdens that night. Could this be what growing up and doing the things was about? Meeting everyone’s needs while juggling different roles of wife, mother, friend, career, ministry?

We carry many bags with us as we navigate life: tote bags of identity for each of our many roles, smaller bags filled with worry over medical diagnoses, financial concerns, job stability, and the sacks of fear of the future. We can carry backpacks about complicated relationships in our marriage, family, or work. Even our expectations and standards about a faith walk can weigh us down. Most of us also carry some tiny cosmetic bags hidden away where no one can see the condemnation or shameful moments we’ve experienced.

And we wonder why life feels so complex and complicated.

Psalm 16:5-6 offers a different perspective.

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. - Psalm 16:5-6

You see, I can easily believe the lie that I need to control and hold tightly to each task to ensure its completion. Performance and comparison can be heavy totes that overload my heart and mind. Hearing condemnation and shame, I hide some bags of rejection, mistakes, or betrayals so that no one sees the true me.

But Jesus has come to set us free. He has come to give us an inheritance not dependent on what we do or how well we do it. He has come to offer rest for the weary, help for the overwhelmed, and freedom for the bound. He offers us Himself.

Our cup overflows with the blessings of relationship through redemption. He holds your lot - all you carry - He extends His arms out wide, seeking an exchange. Offering His freedom, peace, and hope for all you and I carry daily.

In Hebrew, the verb “holds” implies not merely holding or carrying our burdens and removing our sin debt but also defending and sustaining us. He carries it all: the past, present, and future.

The only way we can worship, reflect His glory, and receive His rest is to empty our hands of all that fill them. To lay it all down at His feet. To allow Him to rifle through the bags, remove the lies, accept the redemption and healing He brings, and let Him carry the lot. Many days, we will be tempted to return to our pile of bags. We will return to pick up our burdens and be tempted by a new one, but remember, He holds our lot.

God is the treasure, the one portion for you and me to hold. We choose Him – for salvation, friendship, rescue, and rest. So we can release anything that is not Him and trust Him to hold fast to you and me. When we stand in His holding hand, we experience the truth that He leads us to beautiful, good places. He is our chosen portion, our cup. All we can hope for is found in Christ alone.

He holds our performance and exchanges it with His peace.

He holds our sin and exchanges it with His righteousness.

He holds our desire for worth and declares us precious in His sight, a masterpiece designed for good works.

He holds our shame and replaces it with honor.

He straightens our backs, lifts our chins, looks us in our eyes, and declares us worthy.

We have hope, for He holds our lot.

Now, It's Your Turn!

I challenge you to take a moment to pray, then read or listen to Psalm 16 today. Think about what stands out to you. Consider writing down a statement of faith. It may help to think of this as an I-statement. Maybe yours is similar to Bethany's:

I have hope, for Christ holds my lot.

Then, jot down a question to think about today. Maybe yours is similar to Bethany's:

What am I carrying today? If God extends His arms out wide, seeking an exchange, offering His freedom, peace, and hope for all I carry daily, then how can I give this and entrust it to Him?

May this reflection lead our hearts to gratitude and praise today and may we stand in victory against the tactics and schemes of the enemy.

And praise God for refreshment as we are intentional to spend a summer in the Psalms together, for if we want His truth to ever be on our lips, it must first be planted in our hearts.

Our strength grows as we rely on strength from above. Our joy grows as we see God transforming us from the inside out. Our peace grows as we spend time in God's presence, and we find rest when we intentionally seek the Lord first in our lives, for the Lord is ever our portion.

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.