He Will Sustain You

We've all experienced one of those seasons we simply didn't believe we could endure. One of those seasons where life was hard and we were so tired we just weren't sure we could take any more. A sickness. A job loss. A divorce. A death. The seasons change, but the fatigue remains.

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I don't know about you, but my prayers tend to be more fervent in these seasons. Typically, they sound like this: "Lord, please deliver me out of this season. I can't take any more. I just want this to end. Please make it stop!"

I've been feeling this way lately. Our kids have been sick the past 3 weeks, so there have been many sleepless nights catching vomit in a bucket and watching my kids suffer. Ava got so sick that she was admitted to the hospital for dehydration.

All week I've been praying, "Lord, make this stop! Please take us out of this season!"

Then on Wednesday morning, I sat on the couch, sick kid in one hand, Bible in the other, and read Psalm 55:22:

"Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you."

My first reaction was to express my frustration to God. "Lord, I've been casting my burdens on you all week, and it's not getting better! Now I even have a verse! Why aren't you doing what you promised?"

Then in the midst of my tired and childish rant, the Holy Spirit graciously focused my heart and mind on the latter half of this line: "...and he will sustain you."

Being sustained through something and to be delivered from it are two very different experiences. One of the reasons people get angry at or frustrated with God is that they hold him to promises he's never made. God never promised that, if we pray, he will deliver us OUT of seasons of hardship. He's promised to sustain us THROUGH them.

God is always faithful to his promises.

So what are you currently facing? Are you worn out and wondering why God doesn't deliver you out of whatever you're facing?

Maybe your marriage is suffering. Maybe your kids are sick. Maybe money is tight. Maybe a relationship is strained.

If that's the case, be encouraged. Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you. He may not deliver you out of what you're facing, but he will get you through.

Know why? Because he's promised that he will. God is always faithful to the promises he makes. He's promised to sustain his children through any and every season as we cast our burdens on him.

So what burden do you need to cast on the LORD today?