A minister of God’s word not only needs the light of God’s revelation and the power to retain this light, but he also needs a burden. Burden in Hebrew is massa, which is used in two ways. One way is found in the Pentateuch, which means “a bearable load” (cf. Exo. 23:5; Num. 4:15, 19, 24, 27, 31-32, 49; 11:11, 17; Deut. 1:12). The other way is found in the books of the prophets (cf. Isa. 13:1; 14:28; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1, 11, 13; 22:1; 23:1; 30:6; Jer. 23:33-34, 36, 38; Nahum 1:1; Hab. 1:1; Zech. 9:1; 12:1; Mal. 1:1). The revelations the prophets received were the burdens they received. There is such a thing as a “burden,” which is intimately related to the ministry of the word. When the prophets served as ministers of the word, their service issued from their massa, that is, from their burdens. Without burden, there is no ministry of the word. Hence, a minister of the word must have a burden.
We have seen that the starting point of the ministry of the word is light. When light shines on us, it comes as a sudden flash of revelation that goes away quickly. If our thoughts have been dealt with by the Lord, this light from God will be retained in our mind. Our mind can then translate this light in our spirit into comprehensible thoughts. Such a shining and fixation becomes our burden. A minister of the word needs to have a burden. But without light, he cannot have a burden. Neither can he have a burden if the light is not translated into thoughts. Furthermore, if the light goes away and only thoughts remain, there is again no burden. Burden only comes when there is light plus thoughts. We must see before the Lord that without light there is no burden. Light alone, however, does not make up a burden. Even after light has been translated into thoughts, there will be no burden if the light goes away and only thoughts remain. A minister can have a burden before the Lord only insofar as light is complemented and retained by translated thoughts.
Why do we call this a burden? When light is successfully translated into thoughts, but subsequently goes away, leaving behind only thoughts, there is not the feeling of any weight. We feel weight only when we touch the thoughts and at the same time come under the shining. At such times we feel pressed, discomforted, or even pained within. This is the burden of God’s word. The burdens the prophets received could only be released through the word. If we do not have the word, our burdens will not be released.
In order to learn to be a minister of the word, we have to find out from God what is the relationship between the word, the thoughts, and His light. First we receive light, then we receive thoughts, and lastly we receive the word. The function of the word is to release God’s light. From God’s point of view, light becomes thoughts, and then it becomes the word. Today I am transferring my burden to others when I impart God’s light to them. When I have light and thoughts, I have a burden upon me. Under this burden I am not free; I feel pressed, weighted down, suppressed, and at times even pained. But as I pass on this burden to others and communicate it to other children of God, my spirit is relieved and my mind is once again free, as if a burden has been lifted off my shoulders.
How can we relieve ourselves of our burden? In order to unload our burden, we must have the word. Physical burdens are unloaded with our hands. The spiritual burdens are unloaded with the word. If we cannot find the proper word to release the burden, the latter will remain heavy on us. Our burden is released and we are relieved when we come up with the proper words. All ministers of the word have the common experience that thoughts alone are not enough to constitute a message in them; they must have the word before they can release a message. Thoughts alone cannot lead men to God. If a man only has thoughts and nothing else, his speaking will be confused, go around in circles, and get nowhere, as if he were in a maze. But if he has the utterance, the more he speaks, the more he will be released. Many times a minister of God’s word has a heavy burden on him. When he comes to the meeting, God shines on him and burdens him to speak. But after an hour of speaking, he returns home with a heavy burden still on his shoulder. He comes with a burden, and he leaves with a burden. Other than the possible excuse of the audience, the only reason for this failure is a shortage of words. When there is a shortage of words, the more one speaks, the more uneasy he becomes, and the less he is released. He is not silent. In fact, he can be quite wordy, yet the very utterance within cannot be released. This means that there is a shortage of words. It is not a matter of a shortage of thoughts but a matter of a shortage of words. If he has the right words, the result will be different. Even though he comes with a heavy burden, he will feel relieved as he speaks. As the words are released sentence by sentence, his burden will be released little by little. The more he speaks, the more released he will be. He will come with a burden, and after the speaking, he will feel that the burden is discharged. This is similar to the way the prophets discharged their burdens. The prophecies of the prophets were their burdens. Their work was to discharge their burdens. They discharged their burdens by the release of the word. A worker relieves himself of his burden by the release of the word. Without words, he cannot discharge his burden. The burden will remain on him. Others may praise him for his wonderful speaking; they may tell him that they have received much help. But he will realize that nothing has gone out from within him. Others have only heard his words; they have not heard God’s word.
In relating his ministry of the word to the Corinthians, Paul said, “Which things also we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things with spiritual words” (1 Cor. 2:13). If we have not received a word from the Lord, we cannot be a minister of the word. We have to have a word that the Lord has commissioned us with and placed in our mouth. When that word is released, the burden is released. Every worker of the Lord has to learn to discharge this burden. Those who work according to their mentality or their knowledge do not understand this fact. Whether or not a man can discharge his burden depends not so much on his utterance and thoughts as on whether or not he has God’s word. When he has God’s word and releases this word, the discharge of this word equals the discharge of his burden. Therefore, we have to learn to receive God’s word from Him. When God’s light comes to our outer man through our thoughts, these thoughts can be translated into words. When the words are released, they become God’s word. This is the ministry of the word. We have to be clear before the Lord how our thoughts are turned into words and how the inner words are turned into outer words. In the very act of discharging our burden, we have to realize the difference between the inner words and the outer words. We need to have words, both the inner words and the outer words. The inner words are the word we have received within us, while the outer words enunciate the inner words.