I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE

David Johnson

Central Truth

Wait upon the Lord, for He will carry you, give you hope, and sustain you. He watches over those who are His and protects them from the enemy.

Throw your burden upon the Lord,
and he will sustain you.
He will never allow the godly to be upended.
(Psalms 55:22)

Cast Your Burden on the LORD

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil^{1

55:1
Probably a musical or liturgical term} of David.

1 Give ear to my prayer, O God,
    and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2 Attend to me, and answer me;
    I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
3 because of the noise of the enemy,
    because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they drop trouble upon me,
    and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

4 My heart is in anguish within me;
    the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and horror overwhelms me.
6 And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest;
7 yes, I would wander far away;
    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8 I would hurry to find a shelter
    from the raging wind and tempest.”

9 Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;
    for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around it
    on its walls,
and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11     ruin is in its midst;
oppression and fraud
    do not depart from its marketplace.

12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
    then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—
    then I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a man, my equal,
    my companion, my familiar friend.
14 We used to take sweet counsel together;
    within God's house we walked in the throng.
15 Let death steal over them;
    let them go down to Sheol alive;
    for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

16 But I call to God,
    and the LORD will save me.
17 Evening and morning and at noon
    I utter my complaint and moan,
    and he hears my voice.
18 He redeems my soul in safety
    from the battle that I wage,
    for many are arrayed against me.
19 God will give ear and humble them,
    he who is enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not change
    and do not fear God.

20 My companion^{2

55:20
Hebrew He} stretched out his hand against his friends;
    he violated his covenant.
21 His speech was smooth as butter,
    yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
    yet they were drawn swords.

22 Cast your burden on the LORD,
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.

23 But you, O God, will cast them down
into the pit of destruction;
men of blood and treachery
shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you.

Footnotes

[1] 55:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
[2] 55:20 Hebrew He

I don't know about you, but trouble wears me out. Destructive forces seem to be everywhere waiting to jump out and cause me some sort of pain. Sometimes, it's while driving in traffic. Other times, it can seem random, when someone you know does something inexplicable that hurts.
When we are betrayed by a friend, evil can take on a whole new meaning. The closer he is to us, the more pain he can cause. I remember a job I had that I really liked. I had been hired by an individual, and we became good friends—or at least I thought we were. The property prospered, but this individual and I began to see things differently. I found out later that he had been doing some things that caused me a great deal of trouble. In the end, I ended up leaving and became bitter about the whole incident. I asked myself, "What did I do to deserve this? How could my friend have done this to me? What do I do now?" I felt betrayed by a man I thought was a good friend.
Of course, it's hard to compare most of the things that happen to us with the treachery that David and Jesus experienced. Still, we have to deal with the pain, instead of trying to hide from it. Like David and Jesus, we need to call upon God and ask Him to be our strength. While some might say that this is hiding from the issues, it's the only way we can truly face the depth of our pain. Even Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34a)
You can't continue with bitterness in your heart and soul and expect to live an abundant life. You will experience misery until you forgive. Turn it over to God, and He will deal with it. We often can't see how to deal with the wicked because we are too involved. Give God your burdens, and let Him deal with them as you choose to forgive and choose to live!

1. How do you deal with the burdens of day-to-day life?

2. What do you do when you're scared?
3. How do you throw your burdens upon the Lord? Does He sustain you in the tough times?