Desperate Times

My, Devotion to Him #320

Verse Passage: Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” – ESV

“Just give your cares to God.” Have you heard that one before? Sure. In fact, I’ve even written similar statements in these devotionals. But what happens when you find yourself still overcome by these cares? You may feel like you are not handing over the problem to God, even though that is your intention. It can be frustrating, and sometimes you might even feel guilty that this issue is still bothering you. I understand completely. 

There have been numerous times in which I have encountered the same thing. Why is this happening? Am I not praying right? Is God not hearing me? What is wrong with me?

It’s hard not to wonder what is going wrong when you can clearly read what the Bible tells us to do, so we do it, but nothing happens. The change we are expecting has yet to happen. 

This passage, however, belongs to a prior set of passages in which David had spoken of threats, conspiracies, and battles against him. His problems were right at his doorstep. David won by casting his cares onto God. This is great, and we are happy for him, but it still leaves us in the dark about our own issues. 

In reading these passages, we need to see that David did not find instant success. Instead, this was a drawn-out process. While at the same time, he was battling against an enemy!

David didn’t simply pray. This wasn’t a bedtime prayer, pray for a meal, pray while driving to work. No! He leaned into desperate prayer. 

Verse Passage: Psalm 55:17 “Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.” – ESV

David continually cast his cares upon God until he received the answer, the assurance that everything would be handled.

This doesn’t mean we have to pray like this for every single thing because we have a lot of minor issues on our hands, but David himself was in a mess that was threatening him, and he took his prayer life into overdrive. When the problem is significant, and you cannot shake this from you, don’t stop praying! Go deeper and cry out to God. David continually cast his cares on God until he got the answer. 

We’ve heard of “pray without ceasing,” “come boldly to the throne room,” and “ask and you shall receive.” If anything is learned today, it’s that David’s plea to God gives a renewed meaning to these three statements. 

Don’t feel that shame and guilt about returning to the Lord, crying out in desperation over your situation, acknowledging the issue, and handing it over to Him. God will not fail you! The question is, how desperate are you?

You might be overcome if you’re struggling with something but still find time to watch movies, hang out with friends, and maintain your typical routine while slipping in a prayer or two but never deliberately doing more. Desperate people do desperate things, and when you need help like David, you jump into prayer like your life depends on it. 

How desperate are you? Get into that prayer time and fight. We’re not fighting against God but rather against everything keeping us from Him. You may miss a few phone calls, Facebook updates, regular evening shows, walks, book reading, or whatever you do. 

Don’t hold back! Get in there and pray like you’ve never prayed before. It might be hours or days. David cried in distress evening, morning, and noon but did not stop. 

God bless,

Copyright © 2023 by Jacob Olinger