“My heart is in anguish within me. The terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fear and trembling come upon me and horror overwhelms me. And I say, “Oh, that I had a wings like a dove, I would fly away and be at rest.” Yes, I would wander far away. I would lodge in the wilderness. I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.”
-Psalm 55:4–8
I read Psalm 55:4–8, because I’m guessing there are people, many people listening to this right now who feel what the Psalmist is expressing there.
We praise you, God, that we don’t have to carry these burdens alone.
Just a desire to get away from all the, what seem like the relentless challenges, or wearying days. I think about all that’s gone on in the world over the last year, and the cumulative effect of so many different pressures, so many different tensions. Don’t we have days where we just want to put all those pressures, all those tensions to be gone?
That’s what the Psalms is saying here in Psalm 55:4–8, “I wish I had the wings like a dove, I would fly away and be at rest. I just want rest from it all. Yes, I would wander far away. And I would lodge in the wilderness. I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest. I just want rest and relief.”
We often find ourselves in this situation in this world. And I think most of us, especially over the last year in this world, this well describes where we’re at. That’s why I wanted to read verses four through eight, and then jump down to verse 22.
There’s so much in this Psalm, but verse 22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved.”
Can I just read that one more time over you, and you just hear this? I mean, it’s the pressures and tensions, and challenges, and weightiness and weariness that you may be feeling. Just to hear this word straight from God, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved.”
So God, I just pray that verse over every single person listening right now who is weary. Who is heavy ladened with sorrows, and with challenges, and just lacking strength or lacking wisdom, or in some cases, some days feel like there’s a lack of hope. And there’s just so many different pressures, and tensions, and not just from COVID, but so many other things in the world, so many things in our lives, our families, our workplace. Whatever it might be.
Psalm 55:4–8 Describes This Unbearable Burden, and Psalm 55:22 Teaches That We Can Cast Them to God, He Can Sustain Us
So God, we pray Psalm 55:22 right now. We cast our burdens upon you. God, I pray that you would give grace to every single person listening right now. Just to cast all of these burdens on you, to know. We praise you, God, that we don’t have to carry these burdens alone. That we can cast them upon you, we can cast in a first Peter five way, all of our anxieties upon you, all of our worries, all of our burdens, all the things that weigh down our hearts and our lives. We cast them on you and we trust that you will sustain.
God, I just pray for your sustenance over every single person listening right now. You would sustain them as they cast their burdens on you, and that you will not permit them to be moved. You would help them to stand, help them in every way they need, to stand. Be their strength today, be their comfort today, be their peace today, be their wisdom today, be their everything today. Be their life today I pray.
Based on Psalm 55, verse 22, I trust oh God, that as we cast our burdens upon you, you will sustain and we praise you for this. We praise you that you will not permit those who trust in you to be moved. May it be so, we pray according to your word in Psalm 55, verse 22. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
