God Will Sustain You

Divine Inspirations | by Dee Davis

Focus Scripture:

Psalm 55:22 NLT

“Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.”

Devotional:

After years of being the one others lean on, where do you turn with the weight you carry?

That question settled in my heart this morning as I read Psalm 55.

For many of us, being there for others has become a way of life.

We are the ones who answer the phone. The ones who pray. The ones who listen. The ones who help figure things out. The ones who care for our families, encourage our friends, serve in our churches, show up for our children and grandchildren, and somehow find enough strength to keep moving when somebody needs us.

And after years of carrying responsibilities and being a source of strength for others, we can become so accustomed to carrying that we forget to ask ourselves:

Where am I putting the weight that I carry?

David knew something about weight.

Psalm 55 is not written from a comfortable place. David is distressed. His heart is overwhelmed with anguish. He speaks of fear, trembling, opposition, and perhaps most painfully, betrayal by someone close to him.

He even says:

“Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!”— Psalm 55:6 NLT

Have you ever felt like that?

Maybe you didn't want to abandon your life. You didn't want to walk away from the people you love. You didn't want to stop serving, caring, helping, or showing up.

You just wanted somewhere to put the weight.

I understand that.

There have been times in my own life when I was carrying responsibilities, concerns, relationships, and circumstances that I could not fix. I could pray for people. I could encourage them. I could be present for them. But I was learning that being strong for others did not mean I was supposed to carry everything myself.

And neither are you.

By the time we reach verse 22, David gives us an invitation:

“Give your burdens to the LORD…”

Give them.

Not manage them better.

Not hide them better.

Not pretend they aren't heavy.

Not keep carrying them because everybody thinks you are the strong one.

Give them to God.

And then comes the promise that caught my attention:

He will sustain you.

To sustain means to support, uphold, strengthen, or keep something from giving way under pressure.

Woman of God, sometimes God changes what is happening around us.

And sometimes He strengthens us while we are still walking through it.

That is sustaining grace.

God may not immediately remove every responsibility. The person you are caring for may still need you. The family situation may still require wisdom. The ministry assignment may still be yours. The relationship may still need prayer. The answer you have been waiting for may not have arrived yet.

But you don't have to carry the weight of it alone.

There is a difference between carrying your responsibility and carrying the weight as though everything depends on you.

That weight belongs to God.

Some of us have been strong for so long that receiving support feels unfamiliar. We know how to give. We know how to pour. We know how to show up.

But God is reminding us:

You have somewhere to lean too.

Before anyone ever leaned on you, God was holding you.

While you were holding everybody else's hand, God was holding yours.

When you were encouraging everyone else to keep going, He was sustaining you in ways you may not have even recognized.

And after all these years, He has not changed!

So perhaps today you don't need to become stronger.

Perhaps you need to release some weight.

One Gentle Step

Take a few quiet minutes today and ask yourself:

What am I carrying right now that I need to give back to God?

Name it.

The person.

The responsibility.

The outcome.

The fear.

The expectation.

The thing you keep turning over in your mind because you are trying to figure out how everything is going to work.

Then open your hands before God and pray:

Lord, I give You what has become too heavy for me. Show me what is mine to carry and what belongs in Your hands. Teach me to lean on You as freely as others have leaned on me. Sustain me where I am tired. Strengthen me where I am weak. And remind me that I was never meant to be the source—You are. In Jesus' name, amen.

After years of being the one others lean on, where do you turn with the weight you carry?

Turn to the One who has been carrying you all along.

God will sustain you.

Stay encouraged and be blessed.