Cast Your Cares on God
Psalm 55:1–23
Cast your burden on the Lord. Psalm 55:22

This statement is the verse picked up by the apostle Peter and commended to us in the fifth chapter of his first epistle: “[Cast] all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Peter was a great worrier, and not without cause. But as he grew older he learned not to worry but rather to do what he then also commended to others, to cast his cares on God.

Why should we do that? Isn’t this just another form of escapism? No. In fact, it is the exact opposite. It is learning to cast our cares on God that enables us not to run away but to stand tall and carry on with the task God has assigned us. Casting our cares on God enables us to be steadfast. The last verses of this psalm give three reasons why we should cast our cares on God.

First, “he will sustain you.” When we are down, it is natural to think that we will never be able to bear up under the troubles that are pressing in from every side. We are sure we will be beaten down. But that is not the case. The Bible says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13).

Second, “he will never let the righteous fall” (v. 22 NIV). The apostle Peter was sure he was going to fall when he was trying to walk toward Jesus over the water of the Sea of Galilee. He looked at the waves and began to sink. “Lord, save me!” he cried (Matt. 14:30). This is exactly what David has been praying in this psalm. He wants to be saved. And the Lord did it. He saved David, just as he saved Peter and all who cast their cares upon him. David is not exaggerating when he says, “The Lord . . . will never let the righteous fall.”

Third, “[God] will cast [the wicked] down” (v. 23). Evil persons may succeed for a time, but it is the promise of God as well as the judgment of history that they soon perish and are destroyed, just as they had sought so hard to destroy other people.

The bottom line is the psalm’s last sentence: “But I will trust in you” (v. 23)— that is, in God. That is David’s final testimony. Is it yours? If you are focusing on the evil around you, you may not be able to say, “But I will trust in you.” But you will be able to say it, if you have really cast your cares on God.

Taken from Come to the Waters by James Boice ISBN 9798887790954 used with permission from P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg NJ 08865

Scripture quotations are from the ESV (the Holy Bible English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.