The word “sustain” literally means to support, hold, or bear up from below, and to bear the weight of a
structure. Dr. David Jeremiah describes this truth eloquently in this way, “God can bear any burden without an ounce of fatigue.” There is no burden, or problem too great, that He can’t bear.
It is used in other verses like Ps. 55:22, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you.”
One of the great privileges of being older is that you have a lot to look back upon. One of the many experiences Effie and I have had the privilege of looking back on are the ways God has faithfully seen us through some difficult times.
One such time is when we were quite discouraged about how the ministry was going in one of the churches we had the honor of serving. Somehow, the ministry was not going as well as we thought it should be going. Try as we might, nothing seemed to turn out right. We were under a very heavy burden.
Well, what should we do? Maybe it was time to leave and pray that God would bring in another servant who would be more successful.
We prayed and waited for God’s orders as to what we should do next. The silence was deafening. God didn’t give us any clear leading or peace to leave. There were no new opportunities, and we had this feeling that there was still something He wanted us to finish at the church where we served. So, we stayed.
However, our prayer changed. We prayed that if God wanted us to stay, He would have to “sustain” us, till His assignment for us was finished. And He did. He gave us a greater sense of His presence, His peace, and a spirit of perseverance. Things began to turn around. People began to trust us more, and seemed to be responding more positively to our ministry of God’s Word.
When you are feeling discouraged and down, remember that God is the Great Sustainer. He can hold you up and get you through till He is ready for you to move on to the next assignment.
Pastor Arnold
September 03, 2023