Casting our Burdens upon Jesus

Beloved of God.
 Greetings to you in the Name of our Lord Jesus. Today, we're taking a break from circulating feedback, so that we can serve some spiritual food, obtained from the presence of the Lord; after which we can return to round up our focus on feedback. The message below is a product of a recent dealing we had with a woman of God. Based on the understanding we got from the Lord, we explored the following question: "How does one cast his burdens upon the Lord?" The answer contains some details already explored; but it also supplies some fresh insights. We pray you find it useful.
 HOW DOES ONE CAST HIS BURDENS UPON THE LORD?
 (1) HUMBLE YOURSELF.
Humility (as an attitude) leads to practical submission to God and man. 1 Peter 5:6-7 says: "HUMBLE yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you". Matthew 11:29 confirms this: "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am MEEK and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
As we can readily see, there is a link between humility, meekness and a man’s ability to cast his cares upon the Lord, something that guarantees rest.
 To help us understand the relationship between humility and meekness, we need to consider the meaning of both words. "Meekness" can be described as having a teachable spirit (a teachable attitude) or being teachable. James 1:21 says "receive WITH MEEKNESS the engrafted Word of God…" This is also confirmed by Matthew 11:29: "LEARN of Me, for I am MEEK and lowly in heart." On the other hand, "humility" refers to lowliness of mind. Romans 12:16 says: "Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate."
Likewise, Philippians 2:3 says: "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but IN LOWLINESS OF MIND let each esteem other better than themselves." This includes a readiness and willingness to occupy any position given to us by the Lord. In Romans 12:3, Paul says: For I say…to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith…"
Humility is an attitude, a thing of the heart, and so is meekness. As a result, it is not easy to identify it in a man. A humble man, who happens to be bold in the Lord, can be considered proud. For instance, just as David was getting ready to fight Goliath, he was accused of pride by Eliab, his elder brother: "Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy PRIDE and the naughtiness of thine heart…" (1 Sam. 17:28).
Likewise, a proud man with a condescending or patronising attitude may be considered humble. For instance, Absalom "stole the hearts" of the Israelites by pretending to be humbler than David (2 Sam.15:2-6). However, submission comes to the rescue.
Submission (to God and to man) is the true test of humility. In fact, submission may be described as humility in action. In the examples above, David’s humility was proven to be genuine when, despite all odds, he refused to rebel against Saul and, ultimately, God. Absalom’s ‘humility’, on the other hand, was proven to be false, when he easily rebelled against David. Are you humble?
Then know that there are no excuses for lack of submission. This leads us to a more detailed focus on submission.
There are two levels of submission:
(a) Submission to God (Jam. 4:7) and
(b) Submission to man (1 Pet. 2:13)
Submitting to God is not as complicated as submitting to man. For this reason, we will take a closer look at "submission to man". The basis of submission to man is God:
"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man FOR THE LORD’S SAKE" (1 Pet. 2:13). The implication is that we should not consider whether or not an individual is worthy of our submission. All that matters is: does God want me to submit?
There are, also, two levels of submission to man:
Submission to a higher authority.
This is required in all places of authority: the home, the office, the Church and the nation (Eph. 5:22-24, 6:1-3, 5-8, Heb.13:17, Rom. 13:1-5). This also extends to the voluntary associations that we belong to. Any time we CHOOSE to associate with others, God expects us to submit to the operative rules in that association: for "to whom ye YIELD yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey…" (Rom. 6:16). If, however, you discover that the association does not meet your aspirations (and remains closed up to your suggestions) you are free to leave, but only according to laid down procedure. If, however, there is no provision or procedure for resignation, seek spiritual counsel (and legal counsel, where necessary). A word of counsel: Avoid any association that has entry provisions and no exit provisions. It engenders bondage.
Submission to a parallel or lower authority.
This is based on the  requirement of mutual submission: "Likewise ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed  with humility…" (1 Pet. 5:5). Paul attests to the same thing: "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God" (Eph.5:21). With humility and submission, we attract the grace of God. Sometimes, God uses our submission to attract for us practical human help that may otherwise not be available.
 (2) DROP YOUR OWN YOKE AND BURDENS, AND PICK UP HIS.
To understand this, we refer you to our series on The Way of Rest, under the sub-title: "Take My Yoke":
"Take My Yoke
 We often fail to see (or appreciate) the conditions Jesus attached to His offer of rest: "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls" (Matt.11:29). What Jesus expects is an exchange of yokes and burdens. When He says, "take My yoke", the implication is that you have dropped yours, especially when we consider His promise to relieve you of that which makes you "weary and burdened" (see 1 Pet. 5:7). If you believe His words ("My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" – Matt. 11:30) you should consider their implication: your own yoke is difficult and your burden heavy.
"To understand this ‘exchange programme’, we need to consider the meaning of the words "yoke" and "burden". Generally, yokes are a symbol of service, responsibility, working partnership, bonding or bondage (see 1 Tim. 6:1, Ac. 15:10, Deut. 22:10, 2 Cor. 6:14, Phil. 4:3, Isa. 10:27, Gal. 5:1). On the other hand, burdens are weights arising from the cares, worries and fears of this life (see Matt. 6:25,27, 34, Mk 4:18 & 19, Lk. 21:34, 1 Pet. 5:7).
"The implication of this exchange is that the LORD changes your approach to work and service, exercises Lordship even in the area of your lawful responsibilities and bears your burdens for you, all in return for your absolute and unconditional commitment to His will. By taking charge of our yokes and burdens, He nullifies every potential excuse for not doing His will.
In practical terms, this involves laying down everything at His feet and starting a new life with a continual emphasis on His will. (see Matt. 6:33, 2Cor.5:14 & 15, Gal. 2:20). Apart from doing everything "as to the Lord, and not to men", it involves giving up your will for His will. Certainly, when a man is yoked to the Lord, he is free ONLY to do the will of God."
 (3) YIELDING TO THE LEADERSHIP OF THE SPIRIT.
Walking according to your own understanding will only increase your burdens. The Bible tells us, lean not on your own understanding" (Prov. 3:6). The Spirit of God will always instruct and counsel us (Jn. 14:26, 16:13). In addition He seeks to practically guide us: "He leads us beside still waters" (Psa. 23:2). We will discover that, so long as we continually yield to the counsel and prompting of the Spirit, we are free of our burdens. Conversely, when we lean on our own understanding, we retain our burdens. This calls for spiritual warfare. This is accomplished by:
 Filling our hearts and minds with the Word of God (Col. 3:16, Lk. 6:45),    Casting down (or rejecting) thoughts and imaginations that are contrary, especially those that encourage us unto worry and fear (2 Cor. 10:3-5), Submitting our minds afresh to the demands of God’s Word and the leadership of the Spirit (2 Cor. 10:5) and Seeking godly counsel, specific to need, where necessary.
 May the Lord bountifully reward our seeking. May we enter into His rest. Amen.