Psalm 55:22 “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”
I am a backpacker, of sorts, and my most recent trip was to the Grand Canyon. For trips like hiking the Canyon, I have a multi-day pack that is roughly 4900 cubic inches (that just means you can fit a lot of stuff in there!). I have discovered, however, that 4900 cubic inches of gear going downhill is entirely different than 4900 cubic inches of gear coming uphill!
In the Grand Canyon, you save the best for last-at the bottom you are staring at walls a mile over your head and seven miles away. I am a little ashamed to admit this to you, but I hired a Tennessee mule to take part of my pack out for me! You may think that was a little wimpy, but I am alive and I made it out!
Everyone has burdens; life brings burdens. But those burdens can seem completely different, depending on which direction you are heading. When you are cruising downhill, the daily burdens of life are tolerable; but when you are heading uphill, those same burdens seem completely different and difficult.
I do not know what your burden is today, but unless God is carrying it for you, you are in big trouble. God is not a beast of burden; He is the God of the universe. But the wonderful trade off in Psalm 55:22 is giving God your burden and getting from Him what you need. Think about that-You give him your trouble and He gives you help! And this help is yours for the asking. Trudging along with your own burden because you are too pious to ask God for help is not good-in fact, it is foolish.
I may not know your specific burden, but most of our problems are people problems. I’ve had burdens in the form of my fifth-wheel trailer or a blown-out tire on my truck, but I can’t do or say the same things to a person as I do a tire! You can have problems without people (truck tires), but you can’t have people without problems. In fact, David wrote Psalm 55 because of people problems. I think the only thing worse than having an enemy is having an enemy that is a friend (see verses 12-14)!
No matter what your burden is, the answer is to “cast thy burden upon the LORD. . . .” What does it mean to “cast” your burden? Well, David was casting his burden when he said in verse 1, “Give ear to my prayer. . . .” No matter what burden you are carrying today, God offers a wonderful trade in Psalm 55:22-have you cast your burden upon Him in prayer?
Prayer Requests:
1. Evangelists Wil Rice and Tim Thompson in the Philippines with Missionary Bob Himes and others (Jan. 5-18)
2. Ranch evangelists and team members traveling to services this weekend in Palm Bay, FL and St. Augustine, FL