Bearing the burden of love is not a lack of faith

There are some burdens, many in actual fact, that we cannot let go. Indeed, truth be told it borders on being an abuse to tell someone who is mortally concerned for a loved one, “Ah, don’t worry about it; let go and let God.”

Well, of course, when we hear such advice from a trusted source, we think, “Well, I should give it a go… I shouldn’t lack faith.” But is it a lack of faith to not be able to let go when we have a genuine mortal concern?

It’s not a lack of faith at all. I would go so far as to say, it’s the epitome of faith that we continue to bear the burden we’re so willing to carry for love. This is a loved one. Or, a precious soul dependent on us. Is it even appropriate not to be concerned; to let go of the burden that God in all glory’s wisdom has given to us to bear?

Sorry if this isn’t good for your anxiety. But the fact is we are tried beyond what we can bear. God does give us burdens that are too strenuous. Not that we would simply fall at the foot of the cross and throw our burdens there, but that we would bear the burden that cannot be changed… for love.

Yes, we bear the burden that causes panic to occasionally cripple us, where we’re cast headlong into vulnerability, not because we lack faith, but because we love so very much.

Can’t we see that bearing the burden we’re carrying, and how it wears us down, is a trophy of our love? Can’t we see that this has cost us because we love so very much? Can’t we see that we love so much because we’re willing to bear such a heavy cost? If we didn’t love so much, we would not bear the burden we do. We would be able to, “Let go and let God.”

Now, there does come the time and the necessity to leave issues in God’s hands, but that isn’t a magical transaction that others know how to do, and we don’t. It’s a cliché! It simply helps us have language for an enigma.

What happens in actual fact is that we don’t leave these things with God at all. If anything, it’s the reverse. God gives us the burden to love, and it cannot be let go. We carry it all the way to grief. So, don’t feel guilty that you can’t let go of it. We aren’t meant to let go of it, but we can learn patience and perseverance even in it.

Rather, we ought to feel pleased that there is so much love in our hearts that we refuse not to love; and indeed, like God himself, we cannot help but love our loved ones and those we care for who matter so much to us.

See how the reality is the opposite to how we see faith a lot of the time? Bearing the burden of love is not a lack of faith, but it is a lack of selfishness and of the denial of what we care about.

So, if you’re genuinely anxious for a loved one, you show love and not a lack of faith, and that love trumps everything else.

Photo by Dmitry Schemelev on Unsplash