Journal: Reformation and Revival
Volume: RAR 13:2 (Spring 2004)
Article: The Art of Bearing Burdens
Author: Diane Langberg

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The Art of Bearing Burdens

Diane Langberg

The art of bearing the burdens of others without being crushed by them is of crucial importance to someone in my profession. The bulk of my time is spent, hour following hour, in hearing about suffering in the lives of others. Actually, it is far more intimate than simply hearing about it, for it involves an entering into the suffering with them in ways that have deeply touched me. Such work is not the peculiar domain of those in the counseling profession though we may engage in it more intensely. The Word of God calls all of us to carry one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2) and so that means that burden bearing should be characteristic of the Church of Jesus Christ. What does it mean to bear the burdens of others and how can we do it effectively?

One of the ways that we as human beings learn is by watching another do what it is we need to learn to do. I am sure most of you have memories of learning to swim or ice skate or play tennis. Part of the way you were taught was by the teacher saying over and over again—“No, not that way; do it this way. Watch me.” You would watch and try again.

For me, the best way I know to learn what it means to bear the burdens of others is to look first at the one who has done so perfectly. “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4). That statement means many things

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and surely one of them is that Christ was the Chief Burden-Bearer. If we are to learn to bear one another’s burdens then we must know Christ. Paul gives us a marvelously rich statement in Philippians that will help us understand the art of bearing burdens. The statement begins with knowing the one who has born ours: “...that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings” (Philippians 3:10). I would like to use this verse to show you what I believe are the characteristics of a true burden-bearer.

The first and foremost characteristic of one who is going to bear burdens is that we know Christ. Bearing burdens has to be rooted in something or we will be utterly crushed by it. To sit with the suffering of others for its own sake will eventually lead to despair, for there is no end to it. No matter how much brokenness you minister to, how much death you sit with, how many hurt people you hold, there will always be more. And even beyond that, there are many we can give to deeply and see no change or response. None of us can stand that for long without being crushed or fleeing from it. And so, Paul starts us with our foundatio...