“Cast your burden on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.” –Psalm 55:22
There is a lot of conflict out there. The longer I am graced to walk by faith with Jesus Christ, the more I see the fragility of human relationships. Husbands and wives, parents and children, pastors and parishioners…these meant-to-be-sweet relationships often undergo deep testings and the final grade is not always passing. How do you respond to difficulties that you undergo with others? I am blessed right now to be in a season wherein I have no open conflicts with anyone. One of the reasons this is true is because I am convinced that I cannot walk in fellowship with Christ if I am out of sync with another of God’s children. The motivating force for cultivating and protecting good relationships with others is not only that practical functionality will be maintained between people, but that harmony will be assured with God.
Mark it down, we must not presume fellowship with God if we ignore disharmony with one another.
In this Psalm, King David had experienced the bruising of a former friend. Israel’s king was in a season of reaping personal trouble from sin that he had previously tolerated in his life. Relationships in his family had greatly suffered and now he was feeling the weight of one of his trusted counselors abandoning him. He remembered times of closeness with Ahithophel, his former friend. He considered him a counterpart in life; they had worshiped together, shared trusted moments as confidants…they were often two in a throng of many. Those days had now ended and David felt the sting of it as Ahithophel turned on him and sided with David’s renegade son, Absalom.
In the midst of the pain of the betrayal David began to earnestly talk to God. He prayed some pretty intense prayers about Ahithophel in Psalm 55 and then gave us the counsel of the ages when burdens of failed relationships find us: “Cast your burden on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.” He highlights three important things to remember when close relationships become painfully severed.
- Give it to God immediately. You are not equipped to properly shoulder the pain. God understands what you feel and is perfectly equipped to take the pain quickly from you before it can ferment into bitterness.
- Trust God to get you through it and back under sunnier skies – he will sustain you. Your dependence upon Him will increase and He will guide you to a place of healing and recovery. The pain will not own you if you allow god to sustain you.
- If you respond righteously, God will strengthen you and defend you if the battle from the opposition lingers. Ensure that you are honoring Him in the conflict and He will not permit you to be removed {crushed…defeated…dishonored}
David was human, frail, sinning at times and imperfect in very public ways. Yet, he seemed to have a character that was willing to acknowledge what was true and right. He searched his own heart with aggressive transparency. He shouldered his fair share of the blame and refused to live in prolonged hypocrisy. As he was assured that his attitude was right before god, he found the ability to turn those who opposed him over to the Lord and start living his own life again.
Let’s you and I commit to always do the same.
Amen! Life will give us plenty of opportunities to exercise this part of our faith walk…of casting our cares / burdens on Jesus…He is always faithful!