Casting What You Carry
By Dean Collins
Whether you think every day is an adventure or every day looks like the same thing over and over, you may very well see and learn something new every time you read through the Psalms. You may read a particular Psalm one day and think, “That’s nice,” and on another day a word or phrase jumps out at you and helps you connect with God.
When going through a hard season or situation, you may find one of the Psalms of lament helpful in expressing your pain or need to God. Psalm 55 is one such Psalm. Your situation doesn’t have to be exactly like the psalmist to benefit from how a particular Psalm or verse might inform or help you.
While we can’t be sure of the context of Psalm 55, some scholars suggest the context may have been after the betrayal of David’s son Absalom or one of David’s advisors. Regardless of the context, we can feel the weight of David’s pain and his need for God’s mercy and presence.
I have used this Psalm to guide my prayers in times when there has been a betrayal by someone, but at other times when facing a health challenge, it has helped me when it seems my body may have betrayed me.
David expressed restlessness and anguish as he struggled to understand what was happening to him. And when we are struggling with something, anxiety can run away with us. That seems to have been happening to David as well: “Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.” That sounds a lot like we sometimes feel when the outcome of a situation is unknown. Our tendency is to think the worst.
I can relate to David’s response to all his anxiety and uncertainty. Here were his raw thoughts and feelings: “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.” I certainly have wanted to fly or run away from hard situations. Haven’t you?
David chose to lean into God as he prayed for God to deal with the enemy. And our enemies can be a variety of things. It might be Satan who tempts us to make choices that are not aligned with our faith yet seem to promise some relief. Revenge might be one of those things we want but go against the instructions of Jesus to forgive and pray for our enemies. Your enemy might be a health crisis that is fighting your body. Praying for healing and getting medical help are best in those situations.
David saved the strongest and best guidance for us when battling anxiety, difficulty, or a particular health crisis:
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.”
You may not be able to throw a heavy burden very far, but we can choose to simply let go and fall into the hands of the Lord. His love is assured. He already took the burden of our sins to the cross, and he can handle any and everything that we face. God will never move away from us but always toward us in our time of need. We can cling to uncertainty and pain, or we can choose to place our trust in the creator and sustainer of all things.
Father, the words of Psalm 31 that Jesus spoke from the cross seem appropriate as we surrender our burdens to you today. Into your hands we commit our spirit and very life today. We trust in you to provide for every need. Deliver us by your love and mercy today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Psalm 55 ESV
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