Safe in the Storm

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.”  Psalm  55:22

Worries and cares of this life can crush a person beneath the weight of it all.  It seems that just about every day presents new concerns, issues and struggles.  Learning to cast our cares upon the Lord is crucial to learning to have peace to stand during a trial.

I have personally always struggled with knowing where the dividing line is between my responsibilities in a situation and trusting God.  By nature I am a proactive person. The Bible verse that says “…you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand.” (Eph. 6:13) has always left me wondering, but have I done all?

There are situations in life where it is obvious we have a part to play in a situation.  If you have said angry words to someone and they are mad, it is obvious we must apologize before we pray and wait for God to reconcile the relationship.  If you need a job, the first step is looking for one and applying for things for which you are qualified, then you pray for a job.

I have made it my practice to pray for direction, and then do what I can and then try to wait patiently on God for the answer.  But there are other situations that from the very inception of the problem, there are no obvious action steps to take.  That is when I am endeavoring to trust rather than try.  Pray rather than fret, worry and analyze.

The sustaining power of the Lord is what sees us through days of doubt and seemingly unending times of trial and test.  God is able to give us the amount of grace that we need to make it through each day.  We have all had hard times in life.  We have seasons of pain, loss and darkness.  But the hand of God is there, keeping us through whatever we are going through.

One day I was driving home through a terrible electrical storm.  The lightning was popping close to my car, and I was just praying for the protection of the Lord to get me home.  That is when He gave me an analogy that has seen me through many things.  I could see the rain, as it was pounding on my car. I could see the how strong the wind was, as it was bending trees over. The lightening was booming and cracking all around me, but inside that car I was safe.  It was like I was enveloped in a cocoon of protection. That is how the sustaining hand of God is.  We can see the hardship; we feel the fear; our journey is impacted by the storm; but through it all, God is still a barrier between what we are going through and us.  He keeps our Spirit safe in his care, always giving us the hope, grace and strength we need to get through that day.

He will never let the righteous fall.  Wow.  What a promise.  When all of our kids were toddlers and wanting to walk everywhere we went, my husband and I would hold their little hands.  When they would stumble and begin to fall, we would pull up on their arms to keep them from being harmed.  God is so much bigger, so much stronger and so much more mindful of the things that could cause us to stumble.  He is well able to protect us and prevent us from falling.  I encourage you today to cast your care on Him and allow Him to sustain and protect you.

Dear Lord, I need your help today to let go of the situations that weight heavily on my mind.  Keep and protect me.  Sustain my faith and strength.  Thank you that as I walk with you, holding your hand, you keep me from falling.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri