Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22
Definition of Sustain- To uphold, affirm, to give support or to support the weight of.
Having worked in the field of aviation, I’ve met people who didn’t like to fly even though they had free flight benefits. And when I asked why they didn’t like to fly? I would often get a similar response that says, “because I don’t have control over the plane.”
Now, from a spiritual standpoint, I was the same way. I did not like the idea of not having control over my own personal life. That is, until I learned to trust in the Lord and allow God to be the head of my life. Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.”
Now you can substitute the word “house” for your own life because the Bible says that our bodies are the temple of the Lord, which is where the Holy Spirit dwells if you’ve been born of the Spirit. In other words, we must first make a decision that the Lord is in charge of our lives.
You see, if the Lord is in charge of your life, then that takes the pressure off of you! Whenever you try to do something in your own human strength or do it your own way without seeking the Lord’s counsel or direction, then you’ll have to be the one who sustains it. Understand that God wants to be involved in every aspect of your life!
Proverbs 3:6 says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”
As one speaking from experience, I’ve learned that if you don’t put all of your endeavors into the Lord’s hands and allow God to bless it, then you’ll eventually wear yourself out. You see, if you were to lift up your arms, even with nothing being held in your hands, eventually your arms will get tired.
The Bible tells us that when Moses’ arms grew tired, Aaron and Hur brought a stone for him to sit on, while they stood beside him and held up his arms, holding them; Exodus 17:12-14. As long as Moses held up his arms, the Israelites were defeating the Amalekites.
The revelation for us to gleam from this story is that Jesus Christ is our Rock/Stone today, and He is the One upholding us to obtain total victory in every aspect of life! During times when we get tired or discouraged and need to be strengthened, this is when we need to lean on the Lord by casting our cares on Him and pray for strength.
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
God’s Direction
The next point is that God gives more direction to those who heed His voice.
In Acts 22:9, The Lord said to Paul, “Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.
If we read the full chapter, we’ll find that Paul did exactly what the Lord told him to do. When I was a soldier in the U.S Army, we were trained to follow orders. We didn’t ask a whole lot of questions.
You may be seeking the Lord’s direction for your life. I encourage you to sit down and think about the last thing He told you to do. The Lord may be telling you to go to Bible school, and from there you will be told what to do next. For some, God may be telling you to start the charity organization.
Maybe God is saying that now is the time for you to start your business. The point is that God will give you more instructions as you do the last thing God told you to do.
God’s Provision
Next, let’s gain more insight concerning God’s provision. In 1 Kings 17:3-4, we read that God commanded the ravens to feed Elijah. I want to provide a little history by saying that God positioned Elijah by the brook when the northern kingdom of Israel was in rebellion and under God’s judgement. God punished them by causing a drought!
I believe the lesson here is that as you go, the provision will be met! However, you also want to apply wisdom and go when God’s telling you to step out.
Now, if God was able to command ravens to feed Elijah, doesn’t that mean he can also command the person who is conducting interviews to hire one of His children for the open position? Or command the top executive of a company who makes critical business decisions to approve your contract or give you favor?
1 King 17:8-9 (KJV)- And the word of the LORD came unto him (Elijah) saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there, behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. (KJV)
I found in my spiritual walk that God will often do things in ways that you would least expect it. I remember a time when I was in school… thinking that family members were going to help me pay for college expenses during a time when I was just scraping by… God ended up using a person I barely even knew.
I believe God does things in a way so that we will give Him the glory He deserves. For some, if things would happen in the way in which they think it should happen, then they would probably try to take all the credit. We learn in Scripture that God didn’t choose the Hebrew people because they were the strongest of people. No, God said they were the least of men.
God does things in miraculous ways so that he may get the glory. He told Gideon, you got way too many men. God reduced his men all the way down to 300. Why? Because God wanted to get the glory; Judges 7:2.
The story of Elijah speaks volumes regarding his devotion to God in the face of adversity. God honored His Word based on Elijah’s faith; 1 Kings 17:14. When you make the decision to honor God in the face of adversity, God will show Himself strong on your behalf. Furthermore, Deuteronomy 28:8 speaks about the commanded blessing.
Examples of Honoring God:
If you honor God with your time, He will redeem time back to you; Ephesians 5:16.
If you honor God with your finances, He will give finances back to you; Luke 6:38.
If you honor God with your body, He will prolong your life; Psalm 90:10.
Find Rest in God
‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.’ -Zechariah 4:6
When we learn to rest and relinquish control over to God, it’s like flying in an airplane. You may not understand aerodynamics, but I can assure you that the Holy Spirit will do the heavy lifting, and get you to your destination much faster. Having said that, you can get yourself all worked up and let anxiety or tension get the best of you, or you can learn to trust God, relax, and enjoy the ride. Joy, Love, & Peace!