Casting Your Care

  

Is it ever okay to worry? Short answer: Not for the Christian.

Then He said to His disciples: "Therefore I tell you, don't worry about your life ... 

Don't worry - it's not a suggestion, it's a command. You can read His words in context here. They are from the most famous sermon ever, The Sermon on the Mount. Basically, He is telling us to trust Him. He knows what we need, and He has our best interest at heart.

God created us to have full abundant lives.  He doesn’t want us to be consumed with thoughts of things that are not our responsibility.  Our job is to trust.  His job is to provide.

But hey! We are human. Worry wants to sneak in. What if God doesn't notice or care about what is happening in my life?

Never fear, God will do His part. We are not to be filled with pride and think we can fix everything ourselves. Instead, we are to cast all our care on him!  Both the Old and New Testaments tell us this:

 

 “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will support you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” Psalm 55:22 HCSB

 

And

 

“Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 HCSB

 

Casting is not a passive word, it’s an active one.  You don’t limply hand your worry over – You vigorously sling it out there! 

 

To me, "casting" is a fisherman's term. (God loves fisherman, as we know from His choosing of several fishermen to be His disciples.) A fisherman casts his rod out there – he doesn’t just plop it near his feet. Also, there is aim when a fisherman casts. He intends to go to a certain area of the lake.

 

So, the casting of our care takes effort, because it is so human to keep it ourselves and stew over it ... and think we are accomplishing something.

 

We cast it upon the Lord, not just willy nilly over our backs ...

 

Also, when a fisherman casts, he must LET IT GO!  I don't mean he lets go of the pole, he knows where it is, but he releases the reel to let the bait go. Now, in Peter’s day, we know from the Word, that he cast nets. Throwing a net would be much more difficult and involve way more effort than a pole!

 

Finally, you let the bait go in hope of reaping a blessing in the form of a fish. We let the worry go and reap a blessing in answered prayer ... and in peace of mind.

 

When you can really believe He cares about YOU, worry won't be a problem.

 

~~~

What about you? Do you struggle with worry? Join me in focusing on this scripture and prayer:

 

Philippians 4:4-7 New Living Translation

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

 

Father,

 

I never saw it before. We are to tell You what we need and thank You for what You’ve done, THEN WE WILL HAVE PEACE!

 

So simple!

 

I mean, after all, we should be in relationship, right? We tell our best friend our needs. We praise our friends and family when they do good. (Or at least, we should!)

 

So, we should treat You the same. And then, because we trust You, knowing You have been there for us in the past; we can now have peace, knowing You will do it again.

 

You are the best! We praise You forever.

 

Now Lord, today I ask You to show up big in the lives of my readers. They might not understand the whole situation they are in, but You do. Father, give them mercy and favor, and we will give You the honor.

 

In Jesus’ name, so be it, amen

 

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Adapted from a previous post.

All photos created in PicMonkey by Jerralea using personal, family and stock photos. Please do not copy. 

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