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Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.
- Psalm 55:22 NIV
"Sustain" is a great word. If you look it up in the dictionary, the
definition says: "To give support or relief to; to carry or withstand (a
weight or pressure); to nourish." God is promising us in the verse above
that if we will do our part by casting our cares upon Him, He will do His
part by sustaining us. I think that's a pretty good deal, don't you? But
let's be honest here. Casting our cares on the Lord isn't always as easy as
it sounds. Even when we sincerely want to hand our burdens over to God, we
often can't. Many times we're left struggling with burdens God never meant
us to handle. The results are often anxiety, depression, despair, and even
sickness and infirmity. But maybe I can help convince you that God really
does want to carry your burdens, and that it's worth the effort to surrender
them to Him. In 1 Peter 5:7 NLT, the apostle Peter restates the verse
above: "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what
happens to you." It's because God cares--and because He never created you
to shoulder your burdens alone--that He wants you to give Him all your
worries. Only God's shoulders are big enough to carry our daily concerns.
Ours aren't. Look at this promise in Psalm 68:19: "Praise be to the Lord,
to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." All these verses make it
clear that God wants to bear ALL our cares ALL the time.
In Luke 21:34-35 TLB, Jesus gives us this stern warning: "Watch out!
Don't let my sudden coming catch you unaware; don't let me find you . . .
occupied with the problems of this life, like all the rest of the world."
And in Mark 4:19, Jesus says that "the worries of this life" can actually
"choke the word [of God], making it unfruitful" in our lives. Instead, the
Savior tells us, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy
burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach
you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light." (Matthew
11:28-30 NLT) If we let the Savior teach us His way of handling the affairs
of this life, we will find the rest and relief He so graciously offers.
It's the Lord's sincere desire that we give all our cares to Him, but He
won't wrestle them away from us. We must surrender them to Him, trusting
that He has our best interests at heart. When we do, we open the door for
God to work wonders in our circumstances and lives. Each day, tell the
Lord, "I give you all my cares and burdens, Lord. Thank You for sustaining
me, according to Your promise." You can be specific, naming your cares if
you want to. Then when worry or doubt come against you, say "Lord, I thank
You that You're taking care of that for me!" And let the peace of God quiet
your heart and mind. May this precious promise from God encourage you
today: "I will be your God through all your lifetime, yes, even when your
hair is white with age. I made you and I will care for you. I will carry
you along and be your Savior"! (Isaiah 46:4 TLB)
Prayer: Lord, today I cast all my cares upon You. When I'm tempted to carry my
own burdens, remind me that Your will is for me to surrender them to You.
Give me a new awareness of Your ability and willingness to solve my problems
and handle my affairs. Thank You for rewarding me with rest and relief!
- J. M. Farro
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