March 28 – Sleep Sustains Life

“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.”  - Psalm 3:5 (ESV)

Sleep sustains our healthy life.  We may not get the sleep our bodies need or we think we can operate efficiently on less than we need.  When that is our condition, we risk serious side-effects.  Some have health related problems making it difficult getting good sleep.  Lack of sleep robs our brains of working efficiently Worry and fear (close emotional relatives) can rob us of the sleep we need.  King David faced rebellion from his son Absalom and had to flee for his life. This psalm was written during or about this time in the King’s life.  Many thought David was abandoned by God and were expecting him to lose.  But David knew to put his trust in the LORD. He knew the LORD was his shield (Psalm 3:3).  And David knew that the LORD was watching over him and giving him needed sleep.  King David knew that if he went to sleep, he would wake up again because the LORD was sustaining his life.  We know this promise.  We can trust God to watch over us and help us get sustaining sleep.  Our fears will ease as we trust God’s promises.  

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December 12 – Sustainable Fellowship

“[He] will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  - 1 Corinthians 1:8–9  (ESV)

Do we struggle with our inability to live the way Christ has called us?  We know what we are called to do or not do but we fail, so how does that affect us?  There is much that we could say but today we look at one promise in this passage. We are called by God to live according to His will.  When we fail, we confess and God forgives again and again.  But the promise here is that our faith and our position in our Lord Jesus Christ is sustained by Him and will continue to be sustained throughout our lives right up to the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  That is the day that Jesus comes for His church.  We can trust this promise because God is faithful and He has called us into this union which cannot be broken and from which we cannot be separated. God is the one who sustains us in our fellowship with Him. That is something to think  about today, isn't it?

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March 4 – Learning to Cast Well

“Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”   Psalm 55:22 (NASB)

Burdens are difficult to carry about with us aren't they? The psalmist tell us that we can cast our burdens upon God.  Those who fish for fun or for a living know the idea of casting.  It is not just dropping our concerns but it is heaving them off to someone else. These burdens are the things that are of great concern to us.  And, we are told that we can depend on God to take care of us while He takes care of our burdens.  Why upon God?  Because He is strong enough to deal with them.  He promises how he cares for us when He says He will sustain us.  If we trust Him, we will be sustained by Him. That is a huge promise for those of us who carry the burden of financial worry or are afflicted with the burden of illness or disability.  Burdens create problems but casting them upon God relieves us.  Why does God promise to do this? Because of an even greater promise that He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.  This idea of shaken means to slip or fall from defeat.  Let's not carry our burdens any longer today, or tomorrow and all tomorrows.  Each time they appear, throw them off by casting them upon God.

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September 27- Each and Every Day

“The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.”  Isaiah 50:4 (ESV)

The Word from the Bible which we have today is a testimony of the prophet Isaiah.  We do know that God did give this prophet many messages to deliver to His people of that day.  And, we believe that God spoke to Isaiah about personal matters as well.  We are taking this verse today and applying the promise to ourselves.  An experience like this would not be only for special people like Isaiah but for all who know God.  We all can be used by God to give words of encouragement to those who are weary.  We also believe that God gives us messages when we awaken in the morning.  He has so much to teach us in our Christian lives and He want to teach us every day.  He knows first what each one of us needs to learn each day.  So, let's turn our ears and our hearts to Him and be willing to be taught by Him each and every day. 

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May 30 – Sustaining To The Very End

“who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:8 (ESV)

We often come here to be reminded that our God is actively involved in the lives of His children – us who believe and have received Jesus Christ as our Savior by faith. Today's verse is one such reminder and it is a promise from God's Word. This promise was not only for Christians living in Corinth almost 2000 years ago. It is for all Christians living today. If you are a believer in Jesus it is for you today and it is for you as long as your are living here on this earth.  God is active in our lives in preparation for our time in eternity. Our verse reminds us that He is strengthening us every day to keep us strong to the end of our lives here. His purpose is to prepare us for the time we will be with Him in eternity. He wants to purify us so that we will be blameless when our life on earth is over. It is His doing, not ours, and we are called to have faith, believing the promises He has given to us. Let's rejoice that we do not have to face the hours, days, and years ahead alone, God is with us and He will sustain us to the end. 

November 12 – He Carries All

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

The picture we see here is one we can truly like. It invites us to cast our cares on the Lord.  This means that we sometimes have concerns which become a burden to us but which our God is able and willing to take care of for us.  So we are admonished to let the Lord carry our burdens.  But that is not all that we are given in this verse. It says that our Lord will sustain us. Now that word sustain really means to hold from underneath. So the Lord not only takes our cares and carries them, He also carries us. Our problems do not have to be something we worry about if we toss them on Jesus. We do not have to worry about ourselves either because He will bring us through. What a rich and encouraging promise to think about today.

May 22 – Tossing Cares, Troubles, and Problems

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

This is an invitation for us to let God take care of the problems we face in our lives. We are invited to turn our cares over to him. The idea is to toss them off our back and onto the Lord and he will carry our burdens – and take care of our burdens. Like having a friend who will take your backpack and carry it so you do not have to. But that is not all. These words also tell us that God will also sustain us. This means the God will hold us up from underneath. When our burden is too much not only will he take it off our back and carry it, He will carry us as well. Our cares sometimes can shake us up but God will help. Let's allow Him to carry our burdens and to carry us today. Toss your worries, your cares, your problems and all that troubles you onto Him. He will not let you fall. 

January 13

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

We are thinking especially today of one special word in this verse.  It is the word “sustain.” We think of this word as being made-up of two words in a long ago language. It really means to hold up from underneath. So the promise of our verse today is that if we allow God to take care of things that are a burden for us he will do that and will also hold us from underneath. Our verse also says that He will not let us fall if we allow Him to handle problems for us – he will not allow us to be shaken off our foundation which is Himself.  God wants to carry our burdens and also to carry us. Let us never forget the promise of this verse. 

September 10

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

I would like to direct your attention to one word in the verse. It is the word SUSTAIN. It really means to hold from underneath. So we are not invited to throw off our cares and burdens and then go on living in our own strength. No, God not only takes the cares that we commit to Him, but he carries us, too. He carries our concerns and He carries us as well. He promises in verses 10 and 13 in Isaiah 41 that he will uphold us with His righteous right hand and then that He upholds our own right hand. Remember your Lord wants to support you and he will not let you be shaken.