Today’s Devotional Thought:
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalms 55:22 ESV
Notice three elements in this verse:
First, notice the command: “Cast your burden on the Lord.”
And thankfully, this isn’t a burdensome command. It’s the opposite! God tells us to give all our burdens to him. We don’t need to carry them anymore. As the Apostle Peter says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).
So today, what are your burdens and anxieties? It could be keeping your business afloat. It could be caring for an elderly parent. It could be applying for unemployment. It could be covering your mortgage while you’re out of work. It could be an underlying health condition that makes you more susceptible to COVID-19. It could be watching the news and being grieved for people in hotspots around the world.
But no matter what your burden is today, what will you do with it? Will you hold onto it and try to carry it yourself? Will you try to cast it on your spouse or loved one who can’t bear it? Or, will you cast your burden on the Lord as he commands in this text?
Second, notice the promise: “and he will sustain you.”
God doesn’t just give commands; he also gives promises. If we cast our burdens on him, he won’t leave us high and dry. Rather, he’ll sustain us. He’ll protect us. Or as Psalm 37 says, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act” (Psalms 37:5).
But this promise isn’t an extension of the “prosperity gospel.” The Psalmist isn’t promising a perfect life to everyone who casts their burdens on the Lord. Consider Job who was faithful but still suffered. Consider Jesus—the only perfect person in history—who went all the way to the cross.
Casting our burdens on the Lord isn’t a simplistic fix to life’s problems, but it’s also not a platitude. God will sustain us. He will protect us. He will shepherd us, though his ways aren’t our ways. And his horizon for care may not fit our expectations. However, God is faithful and his promises are real.
Third and finally, notice the condition: “he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”
Wait…God will only sustain the righteous? Are you righteous in yourself? Am I righteous in myself? Can anyone claim to be righteous in God’s sight? Well, the Psalmist says, “there is none who does good, not even one” (Psalms 53:3). And the Apostle Paul says, “None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). So this presents a problem: God only promises to sustain the righteous, but we’re all unrighteous in ourselves. Is there hope?
Thankfully, this is where the Gospel comes in. The Apostle Paul says that he wants to be found in Christ, “not having a righteousness of [his] own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9). In other words, Jesus lived a righteous life in our place; he died a sacrificial death on the cross. So when we repent and trust in Jesus, we are clothed in his righteousness through faith. God doesn’t see us clothed in our own unrighteousness; he sees us clothed in the perfect life of Christ. And theologians call this an “alien righteousness” because it’s not our own righteousness—it’s the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.
Ways to Pray:
Lord, help me to clearly see my burdens today. And once I see them, let me cast them on Christ.
Father, forgive me for not trusting your loving care. Please let me really believe that you’ll sustain me when I trust in you.
Let there be revival in my nation! Let Americans wake up from their spiritual stupor and cast their burdens on you, Lord God Almighty!
Thank you for the reliability of your promises!
Monday through Friday: Written by Pastor Stern
Saturday and Sunday: Written by Jonathan Hatt