A Prayer for Letting Go of What Is Weighing You Down - Your Daily Prayer - June 18
A Prayer for Letting Go of What Is Weighing You Down
By: Heidi Vegh
Bible Reading:
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” - Isaiah 43:18-19
Listen or Read Below:
Last year, I had the privilege of hosting a grief retreat at my church. We invited a speaker from an organization called Spark of Life, and he shared about the weight we carry in our lives.
At one point, he asked for a volunteer from the audience. He brought them on stage, filled a backpack with rocks, and placed it on their back. As the volunteer walked around, you could see it, the weight slowing him down, changing his posture, affecting how he moved.
Then, the speaker had him take the backpack off. One by one, he opened it and removed the rocks. Each one had a label: grief, loss, regret, shame, worry, disappointment, unforgiveness… and more.
It was such a powerful picture.
Because when we choose to carry these things, they affect how we walk through life. But the beautiful truth is, we don’t have to carry them.
We are actively choosing what goes into our backpacks.
Every morning, we wake up and decide what we will carry.
We choose to dwell on our past mistakes, forgetting that we are forgiven.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” — Romans 8:1
We choose to hold onto shame, forgetting that we serve a God of restoration.
“…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith… who endured the cross, despising the shame…” — Hebrews 12:2
We pick up the rock labeled grief, and sometimes it feels like the heaviest one of all, and still, we choose to carry it instead of surrendering our pain to Jesus.
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.” — Psalm 34:18
What we carry is up to us.
We have the choice of what we keep in our backpack and what we lay at the foot of the cross.
Scripture 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 his pain and forgive. He said, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.”
God can—and will—use everything we’ve walked through for good. But we have to give Him space to do that. We have to lay down what hurts so we can pick up His peace and His purpose.
He is a God of restoration.
He takes what hurts and brings beauty from it. He does a new thing. He uses our pain to shape us into who He’s calling us to be.
Our pain is not wasted.
“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” — 2 Corinthians 4:17
When we give the Lord all of our rocks, then our backpack can be filled with peace, love, and joy. Freeing us to walk with a lighter step, a bolder stance, and a more purposeful posture.
Let’s Pray:
Lord, my backpack is heavy, sometimes too heavy to bear. I long to walk in freedom from my past, from challenging circumstances, and from the weight I carry every day.
Remind me to leave these rocks at the foot of the cross instead of placing them back into my backpack each morning. Give me the strength and endurance not to pick them back up, but to continually surrender them to You.
I choose to believe that You are a God of restoration and peace. I choose to believe that You can take the ugly parts of my life and the regretful parts of my past and make them into something beautiful.
I open my heart to You, Lord. I invite You into the deepest and darkest parts of my soul, the places that hold bitterness, resentment, regret, shame, disappointment, and grief, and I ask that You replace them with Your peace. A peace that surpasses all understanding.
I long to walk in freedom, and I know that it is possible because of the sacrifice of Your Son. I believe that because of what Jesus has done, I can live free from the weight I so often choose to carry.
I know this will be a process of letting go, so please give me the endurance and trust I need to fully surrender, to release it all, and to walk in the freedom that only You can give.
In your precious name I pray,
Amen.
Discuss today’s devotional with others in the Your Daily Prayer thread on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/ALLVISIONN
Heidi Vegh is a writer, speaker, and ministry leader based in Western Washington. A remarried mother of four, she is navigating blended family life after 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 for the journey toward healing and renewed 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 at her website mrsheidivegh.com where she shares devotionals and reflections on grief, healing, motherhood, faith, and the beauty and complexity of blended family life through her monthly newsletter. She holds a degree in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University and serves as Ministry Director at her local church, where she is passionate about helping women grow in faith and experience the transforming love of Jesus.
You can find her on Instagram @mrsheidivegh and SubStack: https://substack.com/
Related Resource: What to Do When God Seems Distant
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Many sincere believers experience seasons when prayer feels empty, Scripture feels quiet, and God seems strangely absent. For leaders especially, those seasons can feel confusing, discouraging, and even shameful.
In this episode of the Unhurried Living Podcast, Alan Fadling sits down with theologian and spiritual formation professor Kyle Strobel to discuss the new book When God Seems Distant, coauthored with John Coe. If this episode helps you recenter your work and life on God, be sure to follow Unhurried Living on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
