Cast Your Burden

“Cast your burden on the Lord,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
Psalm 55:22

David wrote this Psalm in light of friends who had turned on him. His heart was “severely pained” and he wanted to fly away and escape (vs. 4-8).

Are you in a time of pain and hardship? Are you facing struggles with relationships, or another hard trial? Maybe you wish you could escape it and be removed from the challenges.

Amidst your hardship, cry out to the Lord as David did. Cast your burdens upon the Lord - tell Him your struggles, ask Him for help and comfort. Receive His help and comfort by reading His Word.

Our God is so merciful and understanding. He is kinder than we are, more gentle and longsuffering than we are. He has exactly what we need, when we need it.

“No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11b).

First, may I point out - we are to be right before Him. Ask Him to expose sins, and then repent quickly. Be done with the sin and move on with His forgiveness.

Second - what you have, He has deemed good. What you don’t have, He has also deemed good. The struggle you are facing? It is for your good. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). If you love Him, every season of life is for your good and His glory. Trust this promise with childlike faith; trust it simply.

Third - ask. Ask, and let Him guide you with what to ask. Sometimes we know we need to come before Him in prayer but we don’t know what to say. Go anyway, dear friend. He will not turn you away. In humility, be liberal in your asking of Him. In time He will turn your focus exactly where it needs to be, and you will see His lovingkindness toward you.

“How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 36:7).

Our Desperate Need

My prayers have been scattered lately.

I don’t remember how long life has been quarantined, how many ebbs and flows this all has had. But I feel pulled with the tide. In, out. In, out.

As I tuck my kids in and watch the dog settle into sleep, I think all is well. It’s all going to be okay, normal life will come eventually.

Yet I know that’s not true. “Normal” as we knew it won’t be the same “normal” after this.

Lord, when will this end?

Lord, how can people treat each other this horribly?

Lord, what is Your will with all of this?

I find myself praying for simple things, like kind cashiers and enough toilet paper. And then there are deeper things; show me, Lord, how to be a faithful witness to You through all of this; protect my children from this hatred.

Humanity is lost. Every day news stories emerge that drop my jaw and sink my heart. And we are scrambling to make sense of it all, following click-bait and jumping to conclusions and trying to make everyone think like we do.

I watch and I am amazed - this global pandemic has brought out the worst in us. It has brought out so much hatred, so much selfishness. All the inner things of the heart…well, here they are on display.

It isn’t surprising though. Romans tells us, “…there is none who does good, no, not one” (Romans 3:12). All have sinned (3:23). And now, as things are tough for everyone, it all is coming out.

God is sanctifying me. I want to hide in fear; I want to give way to worry over my kids and their future, over the instability of life as I know it. I want to throw fists verbally, give quick responses to people who are wrong or rude to me and my kids. I want to sit everyone down and make it all stop. Yet none of these responses is glorifying to my Lord, and so He reminds me over and over again.

If He has convinced me of anything through this, it’s that the entire world needs the Gospel. There is no policy that will solve things, no government official that will bring perfection, no way of human reasoning that will make people change their evil deeds.

Do you see it too?

Only God can change hearts. Only He can take a sinner, like He did with myself, and make that sinner righteous by the blood of His Son. We can’t do it - we can’t make ourselves good. Only Jesus Christ can make good out of someone inherently evil. Only Jesus can save this world and make things right. How desperately we need Him.

Bringing others to think like we do, act like we do, talk like we do - it isn’t a worthy goal, even if we think we’re doing it after God’s will. The worthy goal is pointing people to Jesus Christ, pointing them to the Bible to be changed by the perfect, unchanging God.

I want to encourage you, sisters in Christ, to be in the Word daily. Read it consistently, let it change you. Go to it to be shaped more and more like your Lord. This is a beautiful thing. And may I challenge you… you have no time for other extracurricular things if you are not in His Word.

I’ve mentioned this particular reading plan before, and I am happily mentioning it again because it has been so fruitful in my life (and the lives of many other women). The Bible Reading Challenge is a wonderful plan to follow for reading through Scripture. We are about to start the summer plan; you can find all the info here. It is solely Scripture, no additives. Whether you jump in with this plan or follow something else, prioritize reading your Bible.

What the world needs most right now is Christians following Christ. I’m praying for you and rooting for you in your walk with Him!

- Amy