Prayer to let go of what is weighing you down
Author: Heidi Vegh
Bible reading:
“Forget what was before. Don’t dwell on the past. Look, I’m doing something new!” – Isaiah 43:18-19
Listen or read below:
Last year, I had the privilege of hosting a grief retreat at my church. We invited speakers from an organization called Spark of Life to talk about the weights we carry in our lives.
At one point, he asked for volunteers from the audience. He took them to the stage and filled backpacks with stones and placed them on their backs. As the volunteer walked around, they found that his weight slowed him down, changed his posture, and affected the way he moved.
Then the speaker made him take down his backpack. I opened them one by one and removed the stones. Each had a label: sadness, loss, regret, shame, worry, disappointment, unforgiveness.
It was a very powerful picture.
Because when we choose to carry these things, they influence how we move through life. But the beautiful truth is that you don’t have to carry them around.
We actively choose what we put in our backpacks.
Every morning we wake up and decide what to carry.
We choose to dwell on past mistakes, forgetting that we are forgiven.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” —Romans 8:1
We forget that we serve a God of restoration and choose to hold on to shame.
“…looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith… despising the shame and enduring the cross…” —Hebrews 12:2
We pick up a stone labeled grief, and sometimes it feels like the heaviest thing, yet we choose to carry our pain instead of surrendering it to Jesus.
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” —Psalm 34:18
What we carry is up to us.
We can choose what to put in our backpacks and what to put under the cross.
The Bible gives us a beautiful picture of this kind of surrender in the story of Joseph in Genesis. After everything he went through – betrayal, slavery, suffering – he chose to release suffering and forgive. He said, “You meant it to harm me, but God intended it for good.”
God can and will use everything we have been through for good. But we have to give God space for that. We must let go of what hurts so we can have God’s peace and purpose.
He is the God of restoration.
He takes away what is painful and brings beauty out of it. he does new things. God uses our pain to mold us into what He wants us to be.
Our suffering is not in vain.
“For our light and temporary troubles are bringing us eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” —2 Corinthians 4:17
When you give every stone to the Lord, your backpack will be filled with peace, love, and joy. It frees us to walk lighter, to be bolder, to be more purposeful.
Let’s pray:
Lord, my backpack is heavy and sometimes it’s too heavy to bear. I want to walk free of my past, my difficult circumstances, and the burdens I carry every day.
Please remind me to leave these stones at the foot of the cross instead of putting them back in my backpack every morning. Grant me the strength and patience to continually surrender them to You rather than take them back.
I choose to believe in You as the God of restoration and peace. I choose to believe that You can transform the ugly parts of my life and the regrettable parts of my past into something beautiful.
Lord, I open my heart to you. I invite You into the deepest, darkest parts of my soul, the places that hold bitterness, resentment, regret, shame, disappointment, and sadness, and ask You to replace them with Your peace. Peace that transcends all understanding.
I long to walk in freedom, and I know that it is possible because of the sacrifice of His Son. I believe that because of what Jesus has done, I can live free from the burdens I so often carry.
I know this is a process of letting go. So please grant me the patience and trust I need to fully surrender, let go, and walk in the freedom that only You can give.
I pray in your precious name.
Amen.
Discuss today’s devotion with others in the “Daily Prayer” thread in the Crosswalk Forums.
Photo courtesy: ©GettyImages/ALLVISIONN
Heidi Vegg is an author, speaker, and ministry leader based in Western Washington. The remarried mother of four has lived a blended family life since losing her first husband to cancer in 2013. Through her writing and speaking, Heidi encourages those who have experienced loss, offering hope and practical guidance on the journey to healing and a new life.
She is the author of The Hard Journey to the Good: A Widow’s Journey from Loss to New Life, a heartfelt account of grief, faith, and rebuilding after devastating loss, available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
You can find Heidi on her website mrsheidivegh.com. There, we share devotions and reflections on grief, healing, motherhood, faith, and the beauty and complexity of blended family life through a monthly newsletter. She holds degrees in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University, is a mission director at a local church, and is passionate about helping women grow in their faith and experience the transformative love of Jesus.
You can find her on Instagram @mrsheidivegh and SubStack: https://substack.com/@heidivegh.
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