Today's Devotion Saturday, June 1, 2002 "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." (Psalm 55:22) Today's Thought I've heard this verse all my life . . . I can remember as a young teen singing it in church choir and even before that memorizing it at Bible School. But never till just recently did I begin to understand the depth of what the Psalmist was writing . . . probably as a result of his own personal experiences! There is a more literal translation of this verse . . . "Cast upon Jehovah what he hath given (or laid upon) thee; that is, thy lot." This implies that what He gives to us or lays upon us as our 'lot in life' or path to travel, or even burden to be borne, we are to cast it all on Him. He also has put it in our hearts to call upon Him to enable us to do or to bear and endure that which He leads us into . . . including all the challenges we face in life! He goes on to promise that He will give us the "measure" of strength and sufficiency to endure or "hold" that which He has ordained for our lives! We are all individual vessels, created to carry or "hold" that which He has appointed to us and nothing can move us away from Him . . . in other words, He will not appoint, arrange, or permit things to occur that will be more than He has formed and fashioned us to bear! In all of our trials, temptations, burdens, heart-ache, pain, etc., He will sustain us and will ultimately bring us to the point of triumph . . . we will be "ultimately" safe because of His protection and careful guard over each and every one of us! His eye is upon us . . . we are NOT separated from Him for even the smallest fraction of a second. His steadfastness toward us is incomprehensible by human standards! The Lord knows right where we are. He, in His omnipresence, has already planted Himself in the midst of this very moment when we are in such need of His divine Peace and holy Presence! He's waiting with His arms open wide . . . take a deep breath and run and jump into His arms because that's where He wants us . . . running to Him, depending on Him, drawing strength from Him . . . not only in the midst of our overwhelming circumstances, but ALL the time! Today's Prayer Father, the burdens I'm bearing, the troubles I am having in life right now, I cast upon You. Lord, when I read how much You long for fellowship with me and then realize how much I pull away from You, I am ashamed . . . forgive me! Father, help me to draw close to You, to hide in You, to find my comfort and peace in You. Lord, thank You for the assurance in Your Word that You have formed me and fashioned me to endure even though at times it looks as if my circumstances are too much for me to bear! Help me to realize, Father, that You are in the midst of every situation in my life . . . ready for me to cast the care, the worry, and the burden of it on You . . . all because You care for me! Your provision in my life, Father, is absolutely awesome! Amen! Have a blessed day! Jan Ross jan@... "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 54:17) ~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~ "Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim" (Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem) Psalm 122:6