Psalm 55:22 – Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
Several months ago, I was asked to share a few verses that have been a special blessing to me throughout the years as a ministry wife and as a pastor’s wife. This verse immediately came to mind because it was very helpful during a trial my husband and I went through in the earlier years of his ministry. I have found myself claiming it over and over again since then.
According to Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, the word cast means “To throw, fling or send; that is, to drive from, by force, as from the hand…” This word cast reminds me of casting a line from a fishing pole. While growing up, I went fishing with my parents many times. I remember my dad trying to teach me to cast my line out into the water. I needed to expend much energy to get my line where I wanted it to go, but once it was out there, I could just sit back and wait for a fish to bite. This process is much like giving our burdens to the Lord. Sometimes we put forth much effort to give our burdens to the Lord because we want to hold onto them and try to control them ourselves. However, the Bible commands us, Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee:…
This brings to mind another verse of Scripture. I Peter 5:7 says, Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. This verse commands us to cast all of our cares upon Him. God wants us to depend on Him fully, not just for a few things. This truth has been a lesson I have had to learn and am still learning. God is concerned about what concerns us. He wants us to depend on Him for everything. God wants us to cast all of our burdens, regardless of the size, upon Him.
This verse has not only a command for us to cast our burdens upon the Lord but also a promise which results from our doing so. The middle of the verse says, …he shall sustain thee:… What a wonderful promise from Scripture! If we cast our burdens upon Him, He promises to sustain us. Sustain means “To bear; to uphold; to support;…to keep from falling…” If we give our burdens to the Lord, He promises to sustain us. We do not need to carry our burdens anymore. He will take them and bear them for us.
Lastly, the end of that verse says, …he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. I love this promise! Once we cast our burdens upon the Lord, He not only will sustain us but also will keep us from being moved. Many times through the years, I have asked the Lord, “Lord, help me not to change!” Sadly, I have seen burdens and trials come into Christians’ lives and have observed how they allowed the hard times to change them instead of giving those burdens to the Lord and allowing Him to sustain them. Satan will use burdens and trials as a tool to try to get Christians to give up, to quit, or to struggle to carry the burdens themselves instead of giving them to the Almighty God. I have found myself singing this song many times when going through a trial:
“Leave it there, leave it there,
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there;
If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out—
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.”
May we each continue to cast our burdens upon Him and leave them there.
by Erin Montgomery
