Burden-Bearing

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

Burden-Bearing

The healing power of inviting yourself into someone’s pain.

Several years ago, when my oldest daughter was getting ready to leave for college, my youngest (who had shared a room since she was born) was counting down the days to her departure. She would be moving into Natalie’s room, finally having a room of her own. Natalie was barely out the door when Stephanie had all her stuff moved in. She was excited, to say the least! I was happy for her.

However, she was only in her own room for a short six months when her sister, Anna, became ill with what would become a seven-year medical crisis. I’ll never forget the day Anna came home after her first surgery. When we moved Anna upstairs to her bedroom, there was Stephanie. To my surprise, Stephanie had moved her stuff back into her old room to sleep next to Anna; she did not leave her side for the next three years! It was something I never suggested.

Unknowingly, Stephanie epitomized what we are instructed to do in Galatians 6:2: Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. The New American Standard version uses the word bear, which refers to the act of having sympathy, feeling for each other, and considering the case of a distressed brother as your own (Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible). 

BURDEN-BEARING – SYMPATHY AND AWARENESS

While I’m not sure that nine-year-old Stephanie technically understood what burden-bearing was all about, she instinctively knew. She was obviously considering the case of her distressed sister as her own. I believe God places that sympathy, that awareness, in the heart of every believer. From the beginning, He knew we wouldn’t survive in isolation and would need each other, sometimes desperately so. This was one of those “desperately-so” times.

There were no words to make Anna’s burden better or lighter, but there was incredible comfort in someone else coming alongside her in presence to help her feel like she wasn’t so alone. Stephanie was adding strength to Anna’s hardship as an ever-present burden-bearer in a way none of us could. She was inviting herself into Anna’s pain and sorrow. So often, people in pain are unable to ask for help because they are so exhausted and consumed with their pain. They are unable to let us know what they need. Taking up the ministry of burden-bearing and inviting ourselves into the sacred places of their pain and sorrow helps them to carry the load.  

BURDEN-BEARING: BE PRESENT WITH ANOTHER PERSON IN PAIN

God doesn’t desire for any of us to suffer alone. He regularly places people in our lives who we are called to come alongside and help carry their burdens (just like Stephanie did for Anna). As believers, it’s our great calling to bear one another’s burdens.  There is no greater privilege than to be present with another person in pain, no greater gift in tough times than to let someone know they are not alone. I think of the women who were present at the cross as Jesus hung, bearing the weight of our sin (the greatest burden). They couldn’t do anything to change Jesus’ circumstances, to spare Him from His imminent suffering, but they could help bear His burden—by their authentic love-in-action presence. 

Because we often don’t know what to do for those who are suffering, we do nothing. Maybe it’s because we feel uncomfortable or don’t know what to say. The action Galatians speaks of doesn’t always involve doing something like we often think. We don’t have to force words when words are inadequate. Words will not reverse what happened, take the pain away, cure an illness, etc.

BURDEN-BEARING: SOMETIMES JUST BE THERE

Many times, the most significant thing that you can do is be there. The ministry of Stephanie’s being there helped Anna bear her burden. No words we could have spoken would have lightened the pain, but not being alone (having someone right there in the same room in the bed next to hers) was healing on so many levels. God, in His grace and wisdom, used Stephanie to reassure Anna that He had not abandoned her. The Ministry of Burden-Bearing is powerful.

Being present with others who are suffering is an act of grace, a case where less is more. We can’t fix their problems, but we can be agents of comfort and encouragement. When God wants to hug someone to help them feel His presence, He always sends one of His followers to put His arms around them to help ease their burden.

THE MINISTRY OF BURDEN-BEARING

There’s no question that with suffering comes incomprehensible mystery. One thing we can understand, however, is that when we bear one another’s burdens, the heartbreak is cut in half. God works in amazing healing ways when we love a person enough to help bear their burden.

This year, Anna had several more surgeries. I’ll never forget the panic I felt one night when I peeked into Stephanie’s room in the wee hours of the morning, only to find her missing. The light was on, but no Stephanie. I ran downstairs, searching every room, but still no Stephanie. Because I was half asleep, I rechecked everything, racing all over the house, thinking maybe I was just not seeing her. To my surprise, I finally found her in the last place I looked. Stephanie was in Anna’s room, all snuggled up with her in her bed. Once again, she knew the Ministry of Burden-Bearing was just what was needed!

Burden-bearing can make all the difference in the fight some people are facing. It has the incredible power to bring life and hope and strength and joy at a time when those things can be absent. Sooner or later, every one of us will be on the stretcher, needing a burden-bearer. Maybe you’re not at that place right now, but is there someone God has placed in your life whose burdens you can help bear? Who needs the ministry of your presence? Whose pain do you need to invite yourself into? Who is your Anna? 

First Published in Just Between Us magazine. Published with permission.