The Lord Sustains

Psalm 55:22. “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.”

I have never been a very good investor, because I am too optimistic. Wall Street tends to punish guys like me. So I have someone else invest my money, but it turns out they aren’t doing much better! My story is pretty common in 2008, as most everyone I know has taken losses. But my investment losses are trivial compared to the trials of many of my friends, especially those who face severe health or relational issues.

We have lots of cares and concerns. Some are huge, and some are just daily challenges. Scripture encourages us to cast them on the Lord. This is as simple as saying, “God, I am carrying around this big burden. It’s too heavy for me. It is robbing me of joy. Please help me.”

God promises to sustain us. I like this word because we know that he doesn’t always “make things better” in the sense that we would want. But I firmly believe that God will sustain you and me through the challenges of life. When I think of God sustaining me, I think of him giving me love, encouragement, strength and hope. I think of him giving me this through family and friends. I think of him giving me “the peace that passes all understanding.” I think of my home in heaven that we talked about last time.

We often have trouble accepting this because we don’t understand God’s condition for the promise. The verse says that he will never let the righteous fall. We think, “Well, I guess that promise is for someone else because I’m certainly not righteous.” We’re not, based on our thoughts and actions. But scripture says that we are righteous through our faith in Jesus (Romans 3:22). Despite our unrighteous behavior, God considers us righteous because of our faith. That is good news! Believe, and he will sustain you!