Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Chapter 6
Casting Your Burdens
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee:
He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22
We read in Psalm 55:22 that we are to “Cast (our) burden upon the Lord”. How exactly do we do that? One way we cast our burdens and learn to trust Him is through prayer. I heard someone say once and you may have heard this also,
Never let your troubles get you down,
except down on your knees.
The Bible assures us that not only will our prayers be heard but that they also will be answered. One of my favorite passages (and as you may have noticed, I have many “favorite passages”) in the Bible is found in Isaiah 64:24, where it says, ''And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I WILL ANSWER; and while they are yet speaking, I WILL HEAR.'' What a promise! Can you imagine a God that answers before we call, that hears while we yet speak? How can we NOT trust a God like that?
What an awesome God we serve! A God that answers before we call and hears while we yet speak; a God that wants US to cast ALL of our burdens and care on Him, a God that cares for me even though I fail Him so very often.
I Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” If we hesitate in casting our care on Him aren’t we are essentially saying, “Lord, I can handle this on my own, I don’t need you in my life.”? Or, could we be saying, “Lord, I don’t trust you to handle this like I think it should be handled.”? Do we really think that we can handle things on our own and that we don’t need the Lord? No, down deep in our souls I believe we know we need Him, but it requires a certain amount of humility on our parts to recognize the fact that we can’t do it on our own. It requires humility to admit that we need God’s help, and to place our trust in Him. We must trust Him fully with every part of our lives, not just the big stuff, but the small stuff too.
As women, as single ladies, as wives, as mothers, as grandmothers, as sisters, as stay at home moms, as full time employees, as whatever we are in our daily lives, there are so many burdens that we bear, that I am convinced we were never meant to bear. One reason we bear these burdens is because we are not casting our burdens upon the Lord. We’re holding on to them – but WHY?
Proverbs 3:5 & 6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” He shall direct my path even through trials and tribulation, even through emotional pain. He wants to direct my path but for that to happen I must allow Him to direct my path; I must cast my burneds and not continue to hold on to them.
Casting our burdens on the Lord requires a significant amount of trust in Him. The Bible gives us some very specific promises regarding trust.
Psalm 2:12 “…Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.”
Psalm 5:11 “But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them…”
Psalm 9:10 “And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.”
Psalm 17:7 “…O Thou that savest by Thy right hand them which put their trust in Thee from those that rise up against them.”
Psalm 18:2 “The LORD is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my Strength, in whom I will trust; my Buckler, and the Horn of my Salvation, and my High Tower.”
Psalm 18:30 “…He is a Buckler to all those that trust in Him.”
Psalm 31:19 “Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!”
Psalm 34:22 “…none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.”
Psalm 37:3 “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.”
Psalm 37:5 “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.”
Psalm 37:40 “And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.”
Psalm 40:4 “Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust…”
Psalm 62:8 “Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us.”
Psalm 64:10 “The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in Him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.”
Psalm 71:5 “For Thou art my Hope, O Lord GOD: Thou art my Trust…”
Psalm 73:28 “But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Thy works.”
Psalm 91:2 “…He is my Refuge and my Fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.”
Psalm 91:4 “He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy Shield and Buckler.”
Psalm 115:9-11 “O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: He is their Help and their Shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: He is their Help and their Shield. Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: He is their Help and their Shield.”
Psalm 118: 8 & 9 “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”
Psalm 125:1 “They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.”
Psalm 144:2 “My Goodness, and my Fortress; my High Tower, and my Deliverer; my Shield, and He in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.”
In the book of Psalms alone we find over twenty-two verses that contain promises for those who will put their trust in the Lord. Can you trust Him today? Can you trust Him enough to cast your burden? He careth for you.
I find that one reason I hold onto my burden is because I think that “I” can handle it – I CANNOT! Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee…” He SHALL sustain me! It doesn’t say here that He might sustain me; it says He SHALL sustain me, He promises - He WILL sustain me.
But what does it mean to sustain? To sustain means to give support to, to uphold, and to give relief. The word “sustain” is used only four times in the Bible; all four of those instances are found in the Old Testament. One is found in Nehemiah 9:21, where it says, “Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.” God led the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years. Their clothes never wore out, their feet didn’t swell, and if that’s not enough, the Bible says they lacked NOTHING. For forty years they lacked absolutely nothing at all. God knew and met all of their needs corporately and individually. He sustained over one million Israelites wondering through the wilderness for forty years. Don’t you think now that He can sustain you and me too?
God wants to sustain us, He wants to give us support, He wants to uphold us, and He wants to give us relief, He says so in His Word. All we have to do is to give Him our burdens. All you have to do is to cast your burden and “He shall sustain thee.” He promised.
How may times have you cast your burdens to the Lord only to take them back again? You pray, you give your burden to the Lord, and then you call Sally on the phone and you say, “Sally, I just don’t know what I’m going to do…blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…” There you go again, you’ve retrieved your burden from the Lord and now you are bearing it again, by yourself. Or did you ever, really cast your burden?
The word “cast” used in Psalm 55:22, means to throw off, to get rid of, to discard, or to shed.
It means to completely let go of,
with no intention of ever taking it back.
It has no connotation of retrieving that which was cast. How often do we retrieve that which was cast? How often do we TEMPORARILY cast our burden on the Lord just to see what He will do? We know it’s temporary, we never intended for it to be permanent, unless He dose what we think He should do. How often do we take our burdens back because we don’t see God working or because we suddenly decide we can handle it on or own or do something to take care of it and we don’t need His help? Or, maybe we see Him working but don’t like His method?
When you voted for the last president of the United States, you went to the polls and you “cast” your ballot. Did you expect to retrieve it again if the results didn’t turn out the way you thought they should? No, of course not. Your intention was to cast your ballot once and be done with it. The same should be said for casting our burdens. Cast your burden and be done with it.
Now there is a good possibility that you and I both will cast another ballot in another presidential election, just as we may cast another burden, maybe even the same kind of burden, but not the same burden. “Cast thy burden upon the LORD…” and don’t take it back – He wants to sustain you!
Psalm 34:8 says, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man (or woman) that trusteth in Him.” Do you trust Him – do you trust Him enough to cast your burden upon Him. He will sustain you.
Job said in Job 3:25, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” Do you fear? Do you have a fear? Do you have fears? Are you fearful? Is there something you are afraid of? Maybe it is the fear of not being a good wife or the fear of not being a good mother. Maybe you fear financial hardship, maybe you even fear for your life. Do you wrestle with the fear of losing someone close to you, someone you love, maybe it’s a parent, your husband, or a child? Fear is a burden. II Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
If God has not given us the spirit of fear, then where does it come from? It comes from Satan. He doesn’t want us to trust in God. He would much rather we be fearful. Satan uses our old sinful self to place doubts and fears in our minds. II Peter 5:8 reminds us that just as a lion attacks the sick, young, or straggling animal and chooses victims who are alone or not alert, Satan is waiting and ready to attack us when we are suffering. The verse reads, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” He is ready, waiting, and eager to devour any Christian who is feeling alone, weak, and helpless. Sometimes we are so focused on our troubles that we forget to watch out for our old adversary the devil. It is at these times that we are especially vulnerable to his attacks. Keep your guard up!
Fear is a burden that we need to cast upon the Lord. We need to be sober, be always watching, be vigilant, and constantly keeping our eyes on the Lord. Psalm 56:3 says, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” Cast you burdens, your troubles, and your fears to the Lord and trust in Him today.
“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee:
He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22
We read in Psalm 55:22 that we are to “Cast (our) burden upon the Lord”. How exactly do we do that? One way we cast our burdens and learn to trust Him is through prayer. I heard someone say once and you may have heard this also,
Never let your troubles get you down,
except down on your knees.
The Bible assures us that not only will our prayers be heard but that they also will be answered. One of my favorite passages (and as you may have noticed, I have many “favorite passages”) in the Bible is found in Isaiah 64:24, where it says, ''And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I WILL ANSWER; and while they are yet speaking, I WILL HEAR.'' What a promise! Can you imagine a God that answers before we call, that hears while we yet speak? How can we NOT trust a God like that?
What an awesome God we serve! A God that answers before we call and hears while we yet speak; a God that wants US to cast ALL of our burdens and care on Him, a God that cares for me even though I fail Him so very often.
I Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” If we hesitate in casting our care on Him aren’t we are essentially saying, “Lord, I can handle this on my own, I don’t need you in my life.”? Or, could we be saying, “Lord, I don’t trust you to handle this like I think it should be handled.”? Do we really think that we can handle things on our own and that we don’t need the Lord? No, down deep in our souls I believe we know we need Him, but it requires a certain amount of humility on our parts to recognize the fact that we can’t do it on our own. It requires humility to admit that we need God’s help, and to place our trust in Him. We must trust Him fully with every part of our lives, not just the big stuff, but the small stuff too.
As women, as single ladies, as wives, as mothers, as grandmothers, as sisters, as stay at home moms, as full time employees, as whatever we are in our daily lives, there are so many burdens that we bear, that I am convinced we were never meant to bear. One reason we bear these burdens is because we are not casting our burdens upon the Lord. We’re holding on to them – but WHY?
Proverbs 3:5 & 6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” He shall direct my path even through trials and tribulation, even through emotional pain. He wants to direct my path but for that to happen I must allow Him to direct my path; I must cast my burneds and not continue to hold on to them.
Casting our burdens on the Lord requires a significant amount of trust in Him. The Bible gives us some very specific promises regarding trust.
Psalm 2:12 “…Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.”
Psalm 5:11 “But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them…”
Psalm 9:10 “And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.”
Psalm 17:7 “…O Thou that savest by Thy right hand them which put their trust in Thee from those that rise up against them.”
Psalm 18:2 “The LORD is my Rock, and my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my Strength, in whom I will trust; my Buckler, and the Horn of my Salvation, and my High Tower.”
Psalm 18:30 “…He is a Buckler to all those that trust in Him.”
Psalm 31:19 “Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!”
Psalm 34:22 “…none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate.”
Psalm 37:3 “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.”
Psalm 37:5 “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.”
Psalm 37:40 “And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.”
Psalm 40:4 “Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust…”
Psalm 62:8 “Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us.”
Psalm 64:10 “The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in Him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.”
Psalm 71:5 “For Thou art my Hope, O Lord GOD: Thou art my Trust…”
Psalm 73:28 “But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Thy works.”
Psalm 91:2 “…He is my Refuge and my Fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.”
Psalm 91:4 “He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy Shield and Buckler.”
Psalm 115:9-11 “O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: He is their Help and their Shield. O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: He is their Help and their Shield. Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: He is their Help and their Shield.”
Psalm 118: 8 & 9 “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.”
Psalm 125:1 “They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.”
Psalm 144:2 “My Goodness, and my Fortress; my High Tower, and my Deliverer; my Shield, and He in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me.”
In the book of Psalms alone we find over twenty-two verses that contain promises for those who will put their trust in the Lord. Can you trust Him today? Can you trust Him enough to cast your burden? He careth for you.
I find that one reason I hold onto my burden is because I think that “I” can handle it – I CANNOT! Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee…” He SHALL sustain me! It doesn’t say here that He might sustain me; it says He SHALL sustain me, He promises - He WILL sustain me.
But what does it mean to sustain? To sustain means to give support to, to uphold, and to give relief. The word “sustain” is used only four times in the Bible; all four of those instances are found in the Old Testament. One is found in Nehemiah 9:21, where it says, “Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.” God led the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years. Their clothes never wore out, their feet didn’t swell, and if that’s not enough, the Bible says they lacked NOTHING. For forty years they lacked absolutely nothing at all. God knew and met all of their needs corporately and individually. He sustained over one million Israelites wondering through the wilderness for forty years. Don’t you think now that He can sustain you and me too?
God wants to sustain us, He wants to give us support, He wants to uphold us, and He wants to give us relief, He says so in His Word. All we have to do is to give Him our burdens. All you have to do is to cast your burden and “He shall sustain thee.” He promised.
How may times have you cast your burdens to the Lord only to take them back again? You pray, you give your burden to the Lord, and then you call Sally on the phone and you say, “Sally, I just don’t know what I’m going to do…blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…” There you go again, you’ve retrieved your burden from the Lord and now you are bearing it again, by yourself. Or did you ever, really cast your burden?
The word “cast” used in Psalm 55:22, means to throw off, to get rid of, to discard, or to shed.
It means to completely let go of,
with no intention of ever taking it back.
It has no connotation of retrieving that which was cast. How often do we retrieve that which was cast? How often do we TEMPORARILY cast our burden on the Lord just to see what He will do? We know it’s temporary, we never intended for it to be permanent, unless He dose what we think He should do. How often do we take our burdens back because we don’t see God working or because we suddenly decide we can handle it on or own or do something to take care of it and we don’t need His help? Or, maybe we see Him working but don’t like His method?
When you voted for the last president of the United States, you went to the polls and you “cast” your ballot. Did you expect to retrieve it again if the results didn’t turn out the way you thought they should? No, of course not. Your intention was to cast your ballot once and be done with it. The same should be said for casting our burdens. Cast your burden and be done with it.
Now there is a good possibility that you and I both will cast another ballot in another presidential election, just as we may cast another burden, maybe even the same kind of burden, but not the same burden. “Cast thy burden upon the LORD…” and don’t take it back – He wants to sustain you!
Psalm 34:8 says, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man (or woman) that trusteth in Him.” Do you trust Him – do you trust Him enough to cast your burden upon Him. He will sustain you.
Job said in Job 3:25, “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” Do you fear? Do you have a fear? Do you have fears? Are you fearful? Is there something you are afraid of? Maybe it is the fear of not being a good wife or the fear of not being a good mother. Maybe you fear financial hardship, maybe you even fear for your life. Do you wrestle with the fear of losing someone close to you, someone you love, maybe it’s a parent, your husband, or a child? Fear is a burden. II Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
If God has not given us the spirit of fear, then where does it come from? It comes from Satan. He doesn’t want us to trust in God. He would much rather we be fearful. Satan uses our old sinful self to place doubts and fears in our minds. II Peter 5:8 reminds us that just as a lion attacks the sick, young, or straggling animal and chooses victims who are alone or not alert, Satan is waiting and ready to attack us when we are suffering. The verse reads, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” He is ready, waiting, and eager to devour any Christian who is feeling alone, weak, and helpless. Sometimes we are so focused on our troubles that we forget to watch out for our old adversary the devil. It is at these times that we are especially vulnerable to his attacks. Keep your guard up!
Fear is a burden that we need to cast upon the Lord. We need to be sober, be always watching, be vigilant, and constantly keeping our eyes on the Lord. Psalm 56:3 says, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.” Cast you burdens, your troubles, and your fears to the Lord and trust in Him today.
# posted by Patsy @ 6:17 PM 
