GIVE IT UP

Everyone has burdens - situations that trouble us and disrupt our lives. The circumstances are unique to the individual. But the experience is similar. An event occurs that destroys your life as you know it. Betrayal. Divorce. Death of a loved one. Loss of a home or career. Those are just a few examples of troubling, life-altering events that can shake us up and cause us to lose hope.

King David had his fair share of burdens. Some were self-inflicted. Some were caused by others. He recorded many of his struggles in the Psalms. In Psalm 55, he records his interaction with God during a time of betrayal by his friends. In verse 22 of this psalm, he records a great truth he learned as a result.

Cast your burden on the Lord,

And He shall sustain you;

He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

(Psalm 55:22, NKJV)

Give your troubles to God and He will give you strength.

First, David tells us to "Cast your burden on the Lord." Sometimes, we tend to hang onto something. Even if it hurts us, we just can't let it go. But letting it go is what we need to do. Specifically, we need to give it to God. It is not just forgetting about it or ignoring it. It is letting God handle it. Certainly, we should be responsible and do what we can. But there are many things that are beyond our ability to control or deal with. Those things should be given to God to handle. When we give it to Him, trust Him to handle it. Don't pick it up again. Many times this exercise must be repeated over and over again, until it is resolved. In verse 17 of the same psalm David describes an extended season of prayer in which he prayed "evening, morning, and at noon." Keep going to God until it is resolved.

Second, David tells us that, when we cast our burden on the Lord, He will sustain us and never permit the righteous to be moved [shaken]. He does not tell us that God will prevent all troubles. He tells us that God will sustain us and strengthen us in the midst of our troubles. The key is that we must give it to Him and trust Him with it. The point of the whole thing is not to make us tough. The point is to make us trust God - to strengthen our faith. We must learn not to trust in our own strength, but to realize that we can't handle everything on our own and we need to trust God.

Do you have a burden? Give it to God.