Have you ever given God an assignment? You’re probably thinking no way, I would never do that. And you would be right to reject the idea if I was talking about demanding Him an order. But that’s not what I mean. I would never give Him an order or demand. However, I do believe our Father wants us to give Him assignments. I believe He wants us to trust Him with whatever assignment we give Him.
Let me explain by telling you where I first got this idea.
A few years ago when we were in a meeting with a ministry team. One of our pastors held the meeting after she had been out of the country for a few months. She wanted to share with us her experiences and to catch up with what she had missed. While she was away, Janet and I handled a few extra responsibilities in the ministry.
So, I started giving her all the details of what had been happening in our part of the ministry. I told her about a new couple who wanted to help with the Pre-marital class. I told her I thought this couple looked like a good fit for our ministry. Then I said, “but that is an assignment for you to handle.”
When I said that statement it sounded strange to me. It sounded like I was delegating responsibility to someone who was under my authority. Because I had never used that term to someone who was over me in authority. But the statement was clear and we both understood the meaning. It wasn’t a demand or order. It was a statement that meant I was turning this responsibility over to someone who had greater authority.
Since that meeting, I’ve thought more about this idea of giving someone that is over me in authority an assignment. I’ve thought about how this idea relates to my relationship with God and His authority in my life. And I’m finding it is a very fitting way of seeing this.
For me, the idea of assignment now means I’m placing the matter, burden, or responsibility into the proper hands. The word says in 1 Pet. 5:6-7 that the way I humble myself under God’s authority is to cast, or assign, my cares over to Him.
So in essence, to cast or assign means, I am to delegate the things I shouldn’t be trying to handle, into the care of the one who is able to handle it. But if I don’t give it to Him the truth is I’m not humble enough to let Him have it.
Give it to God
When carrying a heavy burden it’s common to hear someone say, just give it to God. But as easy as that sounds, it is a lot more difficult to do. You may try to give it to Him. You give God the assignment to take care of the problem. But the fact is you still feel like it’s your problem to deal with.
That’s because we misunderstand our position of authority. We think the problem is ultimately ours and if God doesn’t do something it automatically falls back into our hands. Much like we would if we were in middle management on our job.
Who do we give the assignment to?
On the job, if we give someone under our authority an assignment and they fail, then it is still our responsibility to handle it. And because we still feel responsible, it is tempting to micro-manage the assignment and the person. Because when we give it to someone under our authority there is always that question of whether they can handle it. Can we trust people to do the job right?
But what if we were in that same middle management job and we turned an assignment over to upper management? Would we not feel like the matter was no longer ours to worry about? Wouldn’t we feel released from the burden of that assignment?
We have no question of the Lord’s absolute authority in our lives. So, why shouldn’t we feel released from a burden when we give it to Him? Jesus wants us released from it and to feel at rest over the matter.
How He gives us rest.
Take a look at what Jesus said in the following passage of scripture, Matthew 11:28-30.
First, He said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
But lots of people come to Him and yet they still feel burdened and they don’t feel at rest. Why is that? How is it possible to not feel rested when we come to Him?
So He also said: “Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
So here’s the key. We have to take His yoke, meaning to join Him to the point where we are in step with Him. Then, as we are in step with Him, we will learn of His gentleness and humility. And as we learn His ways we find rest in our souls.
But then He said: “For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.”
How could Jesus say this last statement?
Didn’t He carry the load of dying for the sins of the whole world? Didn’t He agonize in the garden on the night before His crucifixion? Yes, He did feel great sorrow that night. And He even asked if there was any other way to fulfill the Father’s will.
So what did Jesus mean when He said for us to come to Him, take His yoke, and learn from Him? Remember the part where He said He was humble in heart. And remember what Peter had later written, that the way we humble ourselves is to give God all of our burdens.
If we read the Gospels and watch how Jesus worked, we get a clear picture of Him surrendering everything into the Father’s hands. Jesus obeyed the Father’s will in everything He said, everything He did, and where His destiny took Him.
He trusted the Father with the assignment
Jesus’ burdens were light because all He felt responsible for was to listen to the Father’s voice. And to do the Father’s will.
This doesn’t mean He never felt the emotions from what He was dealing with. He felt sorrow when Lazareth died and his sisters were grieving. When the 5000 plus that followed Him needed food, He felt compassion and fed them. And He felt anger towards the greedy people that were taking advantage of people at the temple.
I believe Jesus did feel the weight of emotions when He was ministering. And He felt the weight of His own grief as He faced the cross. But at the same time, He didn’t carry the weight of responsibility to do any more or any less than what the Father lead Him to do.
You and I may still feel stress from the trials we go through. But if we yoke up with Jesus and we learn His ways, we can turn the burden of responsibility over to the caring hands of our heavenly Father.
So, I hope you will join me as I say from now on. When I find myself trying to carry a burden I shouldn’t be carrying, I’ll simply pray, “Lord I’m giving you this assignment to handle because I know it’s not mine to carry.”
For Related post check out:
- Do You Believe Your Marriage Can Be Healed
- When to Hold On and When to Let Go
- Is Your Difficult Marriage Too Much to Bear
- Do You Have Anyone Praying for You?
Image courtesy of Witthaya Phonsawat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
I’m great at giving God my burdens…. not so great at leaving them with Him. I feel like I have a time limit, then I take back whatever I gave to Him. I definitely think this is something I need to work on and remember. Thanks for these great words of encouragement!