Cast all your cares upon the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22
Psalm 55 is an incredible Psalm that holds powerful truth for us today. If you take a few minutes to reflect and learn from the meaning of Psalm 55:22 your faith will be strengthened and encouraged.
Let’s start by looking at what lead to David penning these words.
The Context Of Psalm 55:22
Psalm 55 opens with David in great distress. He is pleading with God to hear his prayer and rescue him. (Psalm 55:1-3)
We find out a few verses later that this Psalm of lament was inspired by the betrayal of a close friend. (Psalm 55:13-14)
We aren’t entirely sure who betrayed David, but some theologians suggest it was Ahithophel (2 Samuel 15:31).
Regardless of who it was, we can clearly see David is wounded and struggling. You expect an attack from your enemy but not a trusted friend. His guard was down and his confidant took advantage of him.
Now David is praying that God will deliver him from his plight.
But what’s incredible about this Psalm is that David still displays incredible faith and trust in God. That’s what the meaning of Psalm 55:22 is going to show us.
The Meaning Of Psalm 55:22
As David often does in his poetry he ends by placing his hope in Christ. Even in the middle of a painful betrayal he shows that he trusts in God.
Just look at how he ends this Psalm.
Cast your burdens on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay; the bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you. Psalm 55:22-23
I think there’s a lot we can learn from this Psalm, particularly how David was able to cast all his cares upon the Lord in a difficult situation.
To help us better understand the meaning of Psalm 55:22 we are going to break down the key parts of this verse.
Cast all your cares upon the Lord…
Some translations say “cast your burdens on the Lord.” The reality is we all have things we care about that we are worried about. They result in burdens we bear.
For David his burden was the betrayal by his close friend. For you it might be something different. Whatever is weighing you down we are called to cast it, or give it, to God.
Notice that David says to cast ALL your cares upon the Lord, not some or the big ones, but each and everyone of them. God doesn’t just want your big burdens, he wants all of them. Give all your cares, big or small, to God.
We should start each day by giving God our cares. Whatever it is that we are worrying about, that is weighing us down, we should give it straight to God.
I find that I am often tempted to bear the burdens of this world on my own shoulders. That’s why it’s so important for me to daily cast my cares upon God. It’s not a one time event, rather a daily surrender.
He will sustain you…
If you cast all your cares upon the Lord, David reveals what will happen. God will sustain you.
When you are overwhelmed with your burdens it can feel like you are sinking further and further each day. But when we give them to God he will sustain us.
Jesus says it this way: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
God never intended for you to carry that heavy load. He has something better for you.
Psalm 55:22 teaches us that peace is possible even in the middle of storms. David is pointing out that God will sustain him even though he’s struggling.
For each of us, we can face the storms of this life and find peace when we keep our eyes on God.
He will never let the righteous be shaken…
Though the betrayal probably felt to David like the end of the line, like things would never recover, he ends this verse with this incredible declaration: The righteous will never be shaken.
We will all face trials and difficulties in this life. Jesus never promised us an easy life, he actually promised the opposite.
But for those who trust God those difficulties will not shake us, they will not destroy us. That’s what the Bible promises over and over. Whatever happens to us, if we trust in God he will bring us through it.
Following Jesus is not easy. But he is faithful to sustain you. He will not let you fall. Though he doesn’t promise you an easy life, he has promised to never leave you or forsake you.
How To Cast All Your Cares Upon The Lord
I want to end by breaking down the meaning of Psalm 55:22 into four ways we can put this into practice.
1. Give Each Care To God
This is the main application from the meaning of Psalm 55:22. It’s how the verse starts, cast all your cares upon the Lord.
Look at David’s example in Psalm 55. Throughout this Psalm he is giving his burdens to God, he’s not holding anything back.
Similarly, we should give each of our cares to God. We don’t need to sugarcoat our words or downplay our pain. He wants your heart where it’s at. So give him each burden you have.
Again, this isn’t a one time deal. This is a daily practice. Each time you face a new difficulty, cast it upon the Lord.
2. Remember How He’s Provided
Something that can help us continue to place our trust in God is by remembering the past. When we face a new trial reflect on how God was faithful to you in the past.
This can build confidence that when we cast our burdens upon the Lord he will sustain us.
The problem is we tend to forget the past and focus only on the problem in front of us. Spending time regularly reflecting on what God has done can help us continue to cast our burdens on him.
3. Take A Step In Faith
David spends much of Psalm 55 lamenting to God. But by the end he takes a step of faith. “But as for me, I trust in you.” Psalm 55:23
It’s doubtful that by the time he finished writing these words that the issue was resolved. Rather, what David does is he resolves to take a step of faith and trust that God will work it out.
Sometimes faith means taking a step while we are unsure of what will happen. Casting your cares upon God means that we trust that he will provide, and we allow our actions to be dictated by our faith.
4. Find Rest
Allow yourself to find rest, to find peace. Take some time to break your normal routine, to get way from the noise, so that you can focus on God.
It can be hard to cast your cares on God when we are going 100mph. Slow down. Find rest.
It’s in the quiet that we will find God and find rest. So, take some time to slow down so that you can cast your burdens upon the Lord.
Final Thoughts On The Psalm 55:22 Meaning
In Psalm 55:22 David teaches us an incredible lesson about allowing God to carry our burdens. We don’t have to shoulder them ourselves, God is capable and willing. Give your worries and anxieties to him.
The reality is that thing you are worried about is likely something you are incapable of dealing with on your own. But God can. So give it to him. And if you do he will sustain you and you will not fall.
You might also like: What Do Not Be Anxious Really Means (Philippians 4:6)
BA in Biblical Studies - Ozark Christian College (2012)
MA in Theology - Regent University (2019)
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