Cast Your Burden on The Lord

I've been thinking a lot lately about the world and what a sad, dark place it is. Before I get to the uplifting stuff, I need to describe what has brought me to this realization. I recently purchased the book Humans of New York: Stories. As I've been reading it, I can't help but notice how many people seem to be wandering aimlessly, barely trying to get by, trying to find themselves, or struggling not to give up on life. It is heartbreaking. What is even more heartbreaking however is when I see my own friends experiencing those same struggles. One of my dearest friends has been struggling now with major depression (although she refuses to acknowledge it). She is to the point where she legitimately cannot see anything worthwhile about herself, she is incapable of feeling loved, and she is miserable all of the time. I don't even know how many times she has messaged me on Facebook only saying, "I'm so miserable. I hate my life." The other day we had the following conversation.

"I'm kind of seeing someone. It's a disaster. It's one of those that you know is a bad decision, but you do it anyways."
"If you know it's a bad decision then why are you doing it?"
"Because it beats the alternative."

It kills me to know that someone could honestly feel that way. They would rather be in a bad situation, than feel the tiniest bit alone. Another friend of mine shed some light on this in a blog post that he recently wrote: The Curse. At the end of the post, he talks about how loneliness is one of Satan's greatest tools. I can clearly see how that is true. My friend feels an inability to connect with people in a meaningful way. Many of the people in my book are on their own, or feel so because of various circumstances. When someone feels alone, every trial seems one hundred times heavier because they feel like they are carrying the load on their own.

The thing that makes all of this so heartbreaking is that so many of these people don't know how to cast their burden on the Lord, or worse, don't even know that they cast their burden on Him. Jesus calls to all of us "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heaven laden, and I will give you rest (Matt. 11:28). If we turn towards Christ in our trials, we have no need to feel alone. He has experienced every single thought and emotion that you have. He knows how you feel, and He wants to be there for you when you feel like you have no one else. This may mean actually changing behaviors to be more like Him in an attempt to "come unto Him". It may mean sitting in your car at 2:30 am crying and telling him the thoughts that weigh you down. Or it may mean completely repenting and forsaking certain sins. What ever it is that you need to do in order to come to Christ so that you can cast your burden on Him, I hope that you will have the courage and strength to do so.