The Sins of This World Are Not Yours to Carry; Give it to God, and Run Your Race
Verse: John 16:33 Song: Worthy by Elevation Worship
Written by: Jessi Drost
It’s the abuse that broke you.
It’s the diagnosis that left you feeling helpless.
It’s the criticism from others that slowly wore you down to nothing.
It’s the inability to measure up and be enough that suffocated you.
It’s the people who didn’t keep their word that made you angry.
It’s the hurtful lies and false accusations that kept you up night after night.
It’s the bullies who get away with hiding their true character that make you want to scream.
It’s the apology that never came, and the truth that went forgotten that made you want to give up.
It’s the neglect of justice from the church that caused you to grow sceptical.
It’s the lack of integrity among people who claim to love the Lord that leaves you shocked and discouraged.
It’s the excused sin that hurt you and caused you to isolate.
It’s this fallen and broken world that has blinded you from God and his goodness.
And that’s just my experience from the past few years…
A few months ago, I found myself crying out to God in anguish and discouragement. “How much do you think I can take Lord? You must think I am much stronger than I actually am to carry all of this!”
As this prayer has repeated in my mind week after week, I could feel the frustration slowly consuming me. “Why Lord are you allowing such sin to come against us time and time again? Why aren’t you revealing the truth? Where is the justice and protection that your word promises? How can these people get away with such sin? It’s simply not fair!”
In stewing over these things, the Lord finally responded, and his answer left me breathless…
You are struggling because you are carrying things that were never yours to carry. That is my job. You are not responsible for the abuse or the bullying, for the lies and hurtful words. For the lack of integrity and excused sin, for the criticisms and judgments. You are not responsible for how others choose to live their lives, you are only responsible for how you choose to live yours. Are you living your life for me if you let the wrongs of others consume you?
He was exactly right.
I had been so consumed by my hurt and the lack of justice, that I had grown weary and distracted. I love how the message puts it, “Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.” Ephesians 4:26 (MSG).
I had done exactly that; given the devil a foothold in my life. The enemy had been having a field day with my heart and mind, all because I was failing to surrender the sins of others to the only one meant to carry them.
Bible verses came to life in my mind…
“But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to that of their actions deserve.” Jeremiah 17:10 (NLT)
“Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.” 1 Thessalonians 2:4 (NLT)
“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:36-37 (ESV)
“Never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” Romans 12:21 (ESV)
“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.” 1 Timothy 1:1 (NLT)
“Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.” Romans 12:14 (NLT)
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Colossians 3:2 (ESV)
“Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we have instructed you before. Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live…” 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NLT)
“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (ESV)
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
I had grown weary of doing good.
Oh how foolish I had been! I had let the pain distract me from God’s mission for my life. I had let the enemy put out my light, simply because my eyes were fixed on the wrong things. I had become so exhausted by the never ending hits, that I was no longer standing in God’s truth. I had let my righteous anger turn to bitterness, instead of surrendering my anger and pain to Christ… oh forgive me Father!
“Create in me a clean heart, God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.” Psalm 51:10-12
You have a choice.
You see, we control our thoughts; we choose rather we take our thoughts captive and surrender them to Christ, or if we allow them to take us captive instead.
I have been struggling to let go of the wrongs done to me. Some days I feel that freedom of walking in forgiveness, and other days I replay the hurts over and over and over again, until bitterness consumes me. I have learned that forgiveness takes a constant surrender of the wrongs done to you, it’s not a one time thing! Especially if the hurts are still being done…
It doesn’t however mean that we need to be a doormat to others. Sometimes boundaries are healthy and necessary, particularly when all parties involved are not willing to repent and reconcile in humility (Matthew 18:15-17), and the Lord will never fail to show you which boundaries to set and how you can be a blessing from afar.
Don’t let the sin and brokenness of this world discourage you from living a life that honors God.
You see, forgiveness simply means we are handing the sin of others over to Christ. We are resting in the assurance that God knows the truth; he not only saw what happened to you, but he knows the heart of each and every person. Nothing can be hidden from him, and no one will go without standing before the Lord on judgment day. Surrendering our pain to Christ doesn’t mean the wrongs done to us don’t hurt us or leave scars, it means we don’t let them define us. Rather than choosing to be consumed by the wrongs of this world, we can choose to fix our eyes on Jesus… It’s the only way to make it in this fallen and broken world.
Most importantly, I have learned that by carrying these burdens that are not mine to carry, I have grown distracted and discouraged. I am right where the enemy wants me… isolated and frustrated, and not living on mission with my eyes fixed on Jesus. I have come to realize that how others choose to live their lives does not need to impact how we choose to live ours. We can live to honor God, despite what others may say or do! We are only responsible for ourselves…
Friends, we can’t let the sin of this world blind us from the goodness of God and the mission that he has for each of us. The sins of others are not ours to carry! Surrender them to God, and trust that he will take care of not only their broken hearts, but yours as well.
In a world that is so bitter, let’s choose to be what is good, fixing our eyes on Jesus, and praying that our lights and love will spread to all of those around us.
God is in control, all we have to do is trust him. For while this world may bring us trials and tribulations, don’t grow discouraged, Jesus has already overcome the world.
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
