Cast Your Burdens on the Lord
We have started into week 7 of the COVID-19 lockdown. I’m finding it hard to keep up with all the announcements and information – and to “plan” accordingly. We have different provincial governments announcing a phased reopening of their economies and systems. In fact our hardest hit province, Quebec, has announced elementary schools will reopen on May 11. Many have already disagreed with this approach. Others think that we should all reopen sooner rather than later. The federal government would like a national approach to reopening.
Meanwhile, we all try to carry on in light of latest updates. We are unsure about summer activities, jobs or school for the rest of the school year. We are also unsure about recovery. But with all these uncertainties, we still have the Lord. My reading this morning reminded me of a very encouraging verse regarding Him today.
Psalm 55:22 – “Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” This verse comes at the end of a Psalm where David worked through a personal betrayal. It cost him much personally. It seems he could not resolve the situation on his own. It so troubled him that he called out to the Lord multiple times a day – (Evening, morning and noon I utter my complaint and moan – Ps 55:17).
So in verse 22 he counsels his readers after he worked through this. What does this look like? Well first, we need to take whatever concerns or burdens us and “cast” it on the Lord. It’s like we lift our burden up and throw it upon the Lord. We no longer carry this burden on our own. He joins us in bearing the load.
Why is this a good practice? “He will sustain you.” He will give us sustenance or provision to keep going in spite of this burden. He will not let it crush us. Then “He will never permit the righteous to be moved” or “shaken” or to “fall.” There is a picture here of the active involvement of God in holding us up.
The apostle Peter picked up this verse in the New Testament. In 1 Peter 5:7 he writes “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” One commentator writes, “Early in his life, Peter had been a very anxious person. . . Peter was a great worrier . . . But has he grew older he learned not to worry but rather to do what he then commended others – to cast his cares on God.”
Friends, worry accomplishes nothing and costs a lot of energy. Instead, we need to learn to cast our cares and burdens on the Lord continuously – especially those that arise when governments announce contradictory or confused messaging. Then He will sustain us through the day and the next day. And the next. He’s already done that through 6+ weeks.
“Lord God, thank you for your faithful sustaining of our lives over these past weeks. You have sustained even those of us who have experienced great loss like a job; a loved one. Remind us, by your Spirit, of your willingness to sustain us through our whole lives. Then help us through today.”