"Burdened" March 28 Readings: Psalm 3-4, 12-13, 29, 55

 

Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2022

This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened." Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but I have divided it so that we will spend half the year in the OT, and half the year in the NT. 

Bible Readings:  Psalm 3-4, 12-13, 29, 55  

Background:   

These Psalms tend to focus on dealing with trials and hardships. What is interesting here is that we know that most of David's trials at this point in his life were self-inflicted - consequences of his sin with Bathsheba. But still, even though he was not pristine and innocent, he could still go to God and seek his help.

God cares about you and your problems, even the ones you have caused yourself. He may not deliver you from every consequence of your own sin and or your bad choices, but even when you have failed you can still look to him.

Daily Devotional: Burdened

Ever feel weighed down and burdened by life?

Maybe it is a financial issue that constantly gnaws at you. Perhaps there is a family conflict or concern for a child who is not walking with God as you would wish. Maybe there is just a series of circumstances that pile up one on top of the other that has you stressed out and overwhelmed. All too often, it is a person who has hurt or harassed you in some way and you just cannot seem to put the past in the past.

David dealt with such issues all the time and in Psalm 55:22 he told us what to do when circumstances such as this arose.

Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
he will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

Give it to God. Don't try to cope as best you can. Don't seek for motivation, inner strength, escape in a pill or a bottle, vengeance, or any one of the myriad solutions we come up with in the flesh. Take it to the Lord and cast the burden on him. "Here, God, this belongs to you!" 

When we do that, we have God's promise that he will sustain us, hold us up, and see us through. God is faithful and good. 

It is important to remember the basis of that promise. God will never allow the "righteous" to be shaken. If we are his, if we are righteous before him, then we have this glorious privilege of casting our burdens on him and knowing his sustaining grace. 

But too often, we think our answered prayers depend on our own righteousness and strength. We forget where the righteousness comes from. It comes from the Lord. He is the one who justifies us by the blood of his son, declares us righteous, and enables us to walk in his holiness day by day. 

It is because we belong to God because we have been saved by grace through the work of Christ, that we can come to him for this sustaining grace. 

So, my friend, remember a couple of things today, as you struggle with burdens. If you have put your faith in Christ, you are righteous and you have access to the grace of God. You do not have to carry your burdens alone. You can cast them on the broad shoulders of God and he will bear them for you. He will never allow you, his righteous child, to be shaken. 

Father, thank you that through Christ I have the right to come to you with my burdens. I cast them upon you and trust in you. Lord, sustain me in your grace. 

 

Consider God's Word:

Do you try to bear your burdens on your own, or do you "cast all your cares upon him, because he cares for you?"
Remember that God cares for you, even when you have messed up.