God Promises to Sustain You

Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
 
TO sustain is to both keep what you have and to keep going forward. For example, when we live in relative safety, we want to sustain that safe life, don’t we? To do so, it is wise to be alert to threats to our well-being. Keeping safe is continually moving forward, alert to threats and the ways to protect yourself.
   Psalm 55 expresses David’s fears for his safety. V 5 Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. He longed to escape from his trouble. V 6 I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest – 7 I would flee far away and stay in the desert. 8 I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”
   Do you see why the Bible is so essential to your Christian life? Nearly 3,000 years ago this anointed man of God wrote of his fears and his longing to escape his troubles. Then he pointed to his confidence in God to sustain him. The human condition has not changed. We have much to fear. God has not changed. We can trust him to sustain us.
   You fear for yours and others’ safety, don’t you? Or you have fears about sustaining some element of your life - health, relationships with spouse and children, a home or your job. You pastors wonder about sustaining your church and your ministry. Some of you wonder how you will sustain the many children God has placed under your care. How do any of us trust God’s promises to sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.  
   The first thing we must do is cast your cares on the LORD. This may sound too simple or incomplete. “Here are my cares, Lord.” doesn’t seem effective. We want to do something. Our actions mean we are showing God, “I can do this on my own.” But your really can’t. You need to tell God, “I need your help.” Hearts that seek God can trust God to sustain them. Jesus tells us how he is your help.
   Jesus wants you to know he will sustain you with himself: Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” To keep going forward requires diligent effort. Jesus wants you to know you can rest in his provision to sustain you. Resting often opens our minds to solve problems. Rest energizes the soul and strengthens our resolve to continue forward.
   Jesus will sustain you when you realize you possess his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 1:19-20)
   When the Almighty God calls you, “Mine.” you can trust his resurrection power will sustain you through all threats and into Jesus’ rest.
   Cast your cares to God because in Christ your future is with God: Romans 8:39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.