When Pain Rises

“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.” — Psalm 55:22

There are moments in life that don’t feel polished or put together. They feel heavy. Loud. Unsettled.

Psalm 55 opens with that kind of honesty.

David isn’t holding anything back. He writes, “My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught… my heart is in anguish within me… fear and trembling have beset me.” This isn’t a highlight reel. This is raw, unfiltered emotion.

To be distraught is to be shaken deep inside. Think about the agitator in a washing machine. It doesn’t gently move things around. It stirs, twists, and churns everything inside. That’s what internal agitation feels like. And when life hits hard, it’s rarely a mix of good and bad. It often feels like bad and worse.

David even says something that many of us have quietly felt:
“Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” (Psalm 55:6)

In other words, “I just want out.”

If we’re honest, most of us have been there. Something, or someone, has left us deeply upset, stirred up, maybe even wounded in a way that lingers. And when those moments come, our natural tendencies start to show.

When pain rises, we usually drift toward one of three responses.

1. Run (Take Off)
Running feels instinctive. When fear shows up, our internal alarm says, “Get out.” We avoid the conversation. We distance ourselves from the situation. We look for escape routes.

David felt that pull. He wanted to flee, to disappear into the wilderness where the storm couldn’t reach him.

2. Resist (Take On)
If we don’t run, we often push back. We fight. We defend. We try to take control.

And here’s where it gets complicated. David wasn’t just dealing with enemies. He was dealing with someone close. A companion. A friend. Someone he once worshiped with. It’s one thing to stand your ground against opposition. It’s another when the pain comes from someone you love.

Sometimes resistance doesn’t look like fighting. Sometimes it looks like ignoring. Avoiding. Pretending it didn’t happen. But buried pain doesn’t disappear. It just waits.

3. Rest (Let Go)
This is the one that sounds simple, but often feels the hardest.

After all the tension, all the emotion, all the back-and-forth in David’s heart, he lands here:

“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you.” (Psalm 55:22)

To cast means to throw, to release, to hand it over with intention. Rest is not doing nothing. It’s choosing to stop carrying what was never yours to hold alone. It’s trusting that God can handle what you cannot fix.

David started this Psalm overwhelmed, shaken, and wanting to escape. But he ends it with a declaration:

“But as for me, I trust in You.” (Psalm 55:23)

That shift matters.

He doesn’t deny the pain. He doesn’t pretend everything is fine. He simply moves the weight from his shoulders to God’s hands.

That’s where rest is found.

Not in running away.
Not in fighting harder.
But in surrendering deeper.

A Simple Challenge

Take a moment and ask yourself honestly:

What do I usually do when life gets heavy?
Do I run?
Do I resist?
Or do I rest?

Whatever you’re carrying today, don’t hold onto it any longer than you have to.

Give it to Him. All of it. The frustration, the hurt, the confusion, even the disappointment that came from someone close.

He won’t drop it.
He won’t ignore it.
And He won’t let you fall.

A Cup of Joe Prayer ☕️

“Lord, I release what I’ve been holding. The weight, the worry, the hurt—I place it in Your hands. Teach me to trust You more than my instincts to run or resist. As for me, I will trust and rest in You. Amen.”

Let It Go So It Can Grow

Some things in life only feel heavy because we keep holding on to them.

Old frustrations.
Unanswered questions.
The need to control outcomes we were never meant to carry in the first place.

We convince ourselves that holding on is strength. That if we just think it through one more time, manage it a little tighter, or revisit it again, we’ll find peace. But most of the time, the opposite is true.

Freedom doesn’t come from gripping tighter. It comes from releasing.

Scripture reminds us of this simple but powerful truth:

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isaiah 43:18–19)

God is always at work, always moving, always doing something new. But it’s hard to see what He’s doing next when our hands are full of what He already asked us to lay down.

When we let go of what doesn’t matter, something sacred happens. We make room.

Room for peace.
Room for clarity.
Room for God to move in ways we couldn’t manufacture on our own.

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

That word “cast” isn’t gentle. It’s intentional. It means to hurl it, throw it off, not carry it quietly.

Some of us aren’t waiting on God to show up. We’re waiting to finally release what’s been blocking our view of Him.

The truth is, what really matters has a way of rising to the surface when we stop clinging to what doesn’t. The right relationships. The right opportunities. The right perspective.

“Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

Less striving.
More surrender.

What are you still holding on to that God is asking you to release?

Because sometimes the breakthrough you’re looking for isn’t found in doing more.

It’s found in finally letting go.

From Your Soul

There’s a difference between doing something… and doing it from your soul. One is surface-level. The other is sacred. We live in a world that rewards performance.

Show up. Get it done. Check the box. Move on.

But God has always been after something deeper than that. He’s not just looking at what we do… He’s looking at where it comes from.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…” (Colossians 3:23)

That word heart isn’t just emotion. It’s your inner life. Your soul. Your motives. Your why.

You can do the right thing… with the wrong spirit.

You can serve… and still be empty.

You can lead… and still be disconnected.

But when something flows from your soul, it carries life with it.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23)

Everything flows from there. Not just some things. Everything.

That means your conversations, your leadership, your generosity, your worship… it all traces back to the condition of your soul.

And here’s the truth most people miss:

God is not impressed with what is done for Him if it isn’t flowing from Him.

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Matthew 15:8)

That’s the danger. Looking right on the outside, but being distant on the inside.

Doing things from your soul means you’re connected.

It means you’re not just going through motions, you’re living with meaning.

It means your actions are aligned with what God is doing in you, not just what’s expected of you.

And when that alignment happens, something shifts.

Even the smallest act becomes significant.

Even unseen faithfulness becomes powerful.

Even ordinary moments become sacred.

Because now… it’s not just effort.

It’s overflow.

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart…” (Luke 6:45)

What’s in you will eventually come out of you.

So today, don’t just focus on what’s in front of you.

Pay attention to what’s within you. Slow down long enough to reconnect with God. Let Him shape your motives. Let Him renew your heart.

Then go live, lead, serve, give…

Not from pressure.

Not from performance.

But from your soul.

That’s where the difference is made.