Psalm 55:22 – Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.

This passage is a truth of Scripture that we need to hear over and over again. In this life it is so easy to forget that God is taking care of us and sustaining us every day. Our human heart likes to trust in anyone or anything other than God. At times we trust in ourselves for the everyday things we need. We work at our jobs and think that it is our own efforts which put food on the table. We might trust in doctors to take care of our health and we might trust in the government to take care of our peace and security. While people and organizations do help us, we never want to lose focus on the fact that God is ultimately the one who sustains us.

This passage makes me think of an illustration that I used with the campers last week at Basketball Camp. Each day of the camp we had a Bible Story about the apostle Peter. Peter is a good illustration for how we as human beings often act. He was often quick to act without thinking. He made mistakes. He trusted in his way of thinking or even himself rather than completely trusting in Jesus. He fell into sins. The story that I told on the second night of camp was about the time when the disciples were in a boat on a lake and Jesus came walking out to them on the water.

Peter was quick to say, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus told him to come. As long as Peter kept his focus on Jesus, he was fine. But then Peter started to notice what was going on around him. He saw the wind and the waves. He was afraid and he began to sink. Fortunately for Peter, Jesus was right there to reach out and save him. When Jesus took Peter back to the boat, he told him that his doubts led him to sink. Because of Peter’s lack of faith, he almost drowned. But Jesus was there for him. Jesus rescued him. Jesus did not let him fall and Jesus sustained him.

Our lives can be similar at times. When we are focused on Jesus, everything goes well. It is easier to keep focus on Jesus during the good times in our lives. But what happens when we see those figurative wind and waves? We experience broken relationships, financial burdens, serious illnesses, or even the death of a loved one. It might be easy at that time to take our focus off of Jesus. Perhaps we look to ourselves for the solution. Perhaps we look to other people or institutions for the support that we need. Perhaps we even question God’s love for us. We think that perhaps he is punishing us for some sin we committed.

The devil is trying to use those problems to destroy our faith. Fortunately Jesus is there for us to rescue us. He reminds us that he already took our sins away through the cross. The Father is not punishing us through these calamities. The punishment for sin was already placed on Jesus. Jesus earned us an eternal home. No matter how bad things get in this life, we have heaven waiting for us. This fact brings us peace and comfort. People and organizations can certainly give us great help at times but they do not take the place of God. He uses these people and organizations as part of his plan to help us and sustain us.

When we know that God is always there for us, it gives us a positive outlook in this world. Even when we experience great hardships, they don’t destroy us. We have eternal hope. We have the peace of forgiveness. God helps us by sustaining us with the spiritual strength that we need. We look forward to that day when will leave behind this world of sorrows and enter the glory of our home in heaven.