According to a Wall Street Journal report, anxiety has overtaken depression as the leading mental health problem in the United States. Anxiety-fighting drugs are now the top-selling pharmaceutical products. Even with a booming economy and political stability, worry and apprehension remain part of our human condition—one that can never be adequately relieved by a pill.

When David composed Psalm 55, his mind was agitated by the same types of situations we struggle with today: He recoiled in horror from the violence, anger, and abuse that stalked the city streets (vv.9-11). He suffered the anguish of being betrayed by a close friend (vv.12-14). He longed to leave and escape to a place of peace (vv.4-8).

Because David's anxious pain mirrors our own, his prescription for relief can be ours as well. He wrote, "I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me. . . . Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you" (vv.16,22).

Anxiety is a burden we are not called to bear. Instead, we are to lay our concerns on Christ because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7; see also Philippians 4:6-7).

If your heart is weighed down today, the Lord is ready to bear every burden you give Him.    — David C. McCasland