Lay It Down: How to Give Your Burdens to God and Find Peace Beyond Food and Shame

Scripture: Psalm 55:22 — “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you.”

Why We Carry Burdens We Were Never Meant to Hold

Every one of us carries burdens. Stress, grief, loneliness, and shame often weigh heavier than we realize. For me, food became the place I tried to store those burdens. Whenever life felt overwhelming, I ate to cope. It dulled the pain for a moment, but it never lifted the weight. In fact, it added guilt on top of the load I already carried.

Psychology confirms this cycle. When we turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms like emotional eating, our brains release dopamine, giving a quick hit of relief. But it is temporary. Once the effects wear off, the original burden remains, often heavier than before. This creates a loop that feels almost impossible to break.

God offers us a better way. He tells us clearly in Psalm 55:22 to cast our burdens on Him. This is not just a nice idea. It is an invitation to stop carrying what our shoulders were never designed to hold.

The Biblical Call to Surrender

The Bible is filled with reminders that God longs to carry our burdens. Jesus Himself said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Notice that the call is not to “come when you are strong.” It is to come weary, broken, and weighed down.

In surrender, we discover peace. Surrender is not weakness. It is strength under the care of a faithful Father. When we give Him our burdens, He does not push them back into our arms. He carries them. He sustains us. And He teaches us that His shoulders are wide enough for what we could never hold.

This act of surrender is not a one-time event. It is a rhythm. Some days you will have to lay the same burden down over and over again. That is not failure. That is practice. Each time you lay it down, you are loosening the grip of shame and tightening your grip on God’s promises.

The Psychology of Letting Go

From a psychological perspective, surrender rewires our stress response. Instead of reacting with avoidance or numbing behaviors like overeating, we engage healthier pathways in the brain. This practice builds resilience. Each time you choose to pause, breathe, and pray instead of rushing to food, you weaken the old cycle and strengthen a new one.

Research on mindfulness shows that awareness and intentional release reduce stress hormones and calm the nervous system. As believers, prayer becomes the most powerful form of mindfulness because it connects us to the God who actually changes circumstances, not just our feelings about them.

How to Lay It Down in Daily Life

Surrender sounds beautiful, but how do you actually do it? Here are a few practical steps:

1. Pause before reacting — When you feel the urge to eat from stress, stop for just 30 seconds.

2. Pray specifically — Say, “Lord, this burden is too heavy for me. I give it to You.”

3. Visualize the exchange — Imagine placing the burden in His hands and walking away free.

4. Replace with truth — Speak a verse over the moment, like Psalm 55:22 or Matthew 11:28.

5. Repeat daily — Surrender is a rhythm, not a one-time act.

Living in Freedom Instead of Weight

Freedom begins when you stop carrying what was never yours to bear. Food cannot fix your burdens. Only Christ can. Each time you lay it down, you are stepping deeper into the peace He promises. You are declaring that your trust is not in food, not in control, and not in yourself. Your trust is in the God who never fails.

Friend, you were not created to carry shame, fear, or the weight of proving yourself. You were created to rest in His love. Today, choose to lay it down.