May 26, Morning

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee." — Psalm 55:22 · KJV

Concern, even when it is directed at legitimate objects, becomes sinful in nature if it is carried to excess. Our Savior earnestly taught again and again that we must avoid anxious care; the apostles repeated it; and it is a command that cannot be neglected without wrongdoing. For the very essence of anxious care is imagining that we are wiser than God, and pushing ourselves into His place to do for Him what He has undertaken to do for us. We try to think of the thing we suppose He will forget; we work to shoulder our own exhausting burden as if He were unable or unwilling to carry it for us. This disobedience to His plain command, this unbelief in His Word, this presumption in trespassing on His territory, is all sinful. And there is more: anxious care often leads to actual acts of sin. A man who cannot calmly leave his affairs in God's hands but insists on carrying his own load is very likely to be tempted to use wrong means to help himself. This sin leads us to abandon God as our counselor and turn to human wisdom instead. That is going to the "broken cistern" instead of the "fountain," the very sin charged against Israel long ago. Anxiety makes us doubt God's lovingkindness, and so our love for Him grows cold; we feel mistrust, and so grieve the Spirit of God, until our prayers are hindered, our consistent example is spoiled, and our life becomes one of self-seeking. In this way a lack of confidence in God leads us to wander far from Him. But if by simple faith in His promise we cast each burden on Him as it comes, and are "careful for nothing" because He undertakes to care for us, that will keep us close to Him and strengthen us against a great deal of temptation. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."