Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.

When the ocean liner, the Lusitania, was struck by a torpedo on her 1915 journey from New York to Liverpool, it took a mere 18 minutes for her to sink. But that (somehow) was long enough for one passenger to supposedly pen a message recovered in a bottle years later which has left all who has read it in great suspense: "Still on deck with a few people. The last boats have left. We are sinking fast. Some men near me are praying with a priest. The end is near. Maybe this note will..."

What the writer hoped to convey was swallowed up by the ocean to be retrieved YEARS later.

When thinking of a message in a bottle, many of us are reminded of movies that depict a man or woman who has almost given up on love and who pens their hearts desires on a note to be sealed in a bottle and thrown into the sea. Shortly after, the message is recovered by a suitable, just as desolate individual, and the two live happily ever after.

Sadly, this is not the typical case. Historically, most messages in a bottle are received decades later...many times more than a century later. At this point, the intended recipient AND the person in distress are often dead, and the message is rendered powerless.

Today's verse encourages ALL of us to "cast" our burdens on the Lord. There are many outlets for us to "cast" our burdens, our "message," and our struggles on...such as people or temporary pleasures. However, these methods cannot fill the void or fulfill the true heart's desire which is a desperate need for a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Psalm 108:4 declares the following of our Lord, "For great is Your love, higher than the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies."

When we "cast" our burdens on Him, He will demonstrate His love and faithfulness. There is not an ocean too large for Him to retrieve our innermost desires, to heal our greatest trials, and to meet our every need!

I challenge you today to never leave your life to chance... blindly throwing your burdens to the world or filling your pains with what the world has to offer. Instead, cast your burdens on Him. Talk to Him, share your heart with Him, and allow Him to fill you with His love.

Dear Lord, I am sorry for times in my desperation that I sought temporal things instead of Your unending grace. Thank You that I never have to walk alone. You died so that I can walk in complete freedom.

I thank You, my Jesus, for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life.

Reflection: Am I casting my burdens on The Lord or carrying them on my own?