Cast Your Cares on the Lord (Psalm 55:20-23)

²⁰ My companion attacks his friends;
he violates his covenant.
²¹ His talk is smooth as butter,
yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
yet they are drawn swords.

²² Cast your cares on the Lord
and he will sustain you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken.
²³ But you, God, will bring down the wicked
into the pit of decay;
the bloodthirsty and deceitful
will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you.

 ________

This psalm has been the anguished cry of David for relief and justice in the face of opposition and hardship, particularly the betrayal of someone once considered a friend.  In these closing verses of the psalm, we come to the conclusion of the matter for David: “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.”  David’s hope is founded on the trust that he places in the Lord, and the Lord’s promises to David in his distress.

In meditating on these words, it was quite natural to cast my own cares on the Lord, thinking over the burdens and cares that I’m currently dealing with and struggling with.  But my thoughts quickly went from myself to other people around me, family members, church members, whose struggles I am very aware of, and whose “cares” are much more urgent.

So my prayer today is for these people.  I’m praying for those who are going through particularly difficult struggles.  Yes, these people are frequently in my prayers already, but in light of this psalm, I am praying in particular for them to trust in the Lord to sustain them in the middle of their struggle.  I’m praying for the Lord to work in them the kind of faith David describes in this psalm.

NOTE:

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