We find great encouragement in Psalm 55:22 which says, “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”  The exhortation in this verse is similar to what we have in 1 Peter 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”  Whatever hardship the Lord allows to come upon us, He wants us to give it to Him so that He might take care of it for us.  After all, “He careth for us.”  The Lord reassures us that He will take our burdens because He cares for us. 

Amazingly, even the Lord’s disciples once doubted that the Lord cared for them.  While in a boat on the sea, there arose a great storm that terrified the Lord’s disciples.  Let’s read Mark 4:37-39, “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, CAREST THOU NOT THAT WE PERISH? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”  It seems the disciples did not doubt the Lord’s power, but they doubted His love for them.  Oh, may we NEVER doubt that boundless love the Lord has for us.  It was that love for us that caused Him to die for us. (Read Galatians 2:20)

So, the Lord desires that we give Him all our burdens or cares, all those things that trouble us…whatever they are.  This will cause us to depend upon Him in all situations.  I have sometimes been irritated by that common expression: “When all else fails…pray.”  May we not think like that.  Let’s not exhaust our efforts to solve our problems before we commit them to the Lord’s hands.  NO, let us commit them to the Lord as soon as they arise.  In 1 Peter 5:7 and Psalm 55:22, we are assured of the Lord’s LOVE and of His ABILITY.  “He shall sustain thee” is a promise from God, Himself.  David had earlier proclaimed, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25).  The Lord does not abandon His own.  His Word assures us of His care for us.

We read in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; HE WILL NOT FAIL THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE.”

We read in Joshua 1:5, “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I WILL NOT FAIL THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE.”

We read in Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I WILL NEVER LEAVE THEE, NOR FORSAKE THEE.”

In Psalm 55:22, the word ‘burden’ is more correctly translated as ‘what is given (by Providence)’, which may sound puzzling.  It simply means that whatever burden, care, or hardship the Lord allows us to endure, He wants us to give that back to Him.

Then we are told that the Lord “shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”  The word ‘moved’ gives the thought that while we may have to endure certain situations or hardships for a while, the Lord will not allow us to slip from the secure position of His favor and grace.  We learn that by following the Lord we are “like a tree planted by the rivers of water…” (Psalm 1:3).  We are like the strong tree that cannot be moved from its position from storms or high water.  We are secure in the Lord’s care.  Even when we must suffer from calamities for a while, we are assured that “…all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)  (379.6)