CASTING YOUR CARES
1 Pet 5:7 Amp “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.” [Ps 55:22]
What does it mean to cast all your cares on Him? Are we not even allowed to entertain one little moment of worry or concern? Not if we want peace! But how do we do this? It’s far easier said than done, that is for sure! There are many things in life’s journey that cause us anxiety, worry and fear and that’s just ordinary life – but what about this moment of time in history – this extraordinary period of time that man has never experienced before, where we face an incredible onslaught of evil in every facet of society, as well as famines, floods and increased natural disasters. How do we keep peace of mind in the midst of all that?[1] I believe the key is found in three simple principals:-
THREE KEYS TO THE PATH OF PEACE
1. Trust in God’s love, goodness, wisdom, power and sovereignty.
2. Surrender of control.
3. Hope and expectation (that things will change).
Trust- The key lies in what or whom we put our trust and hope in? If all your hope and trust is in a person or an institution or your money or your education or in a job, none of these things are stable and can crumble right before our eyes (just as the house built on the sand crumbles in the midst of a storm Matt 7:24-27). So how do we truly trust Him with every aspect of our lives from the smallest things to the really big things? The more we develop our relationship with Him, the more we begin to learn of His incredibly deep love for us, the more we understand that He never intends evil for us but has only good, a hope and a bright future planned for us (Jer 29:11) the stronger our trust in Him grows.
Surrender - It all boils down to one word surrender! Surrendering our lives over to Him. When we are truly willing to let go control and allow God to do it His way – no matter how confusing, strange and sometimes very slow it seems. We can make the choice – a decision right now to cast our cares on Him “once and for all”. When you are not in control of something you don’t have the responsibility for it do you? So when a situation comes along to torment you with fear and worry just remind yourself I am not the one in control here therefore I am not responsible for fixing this problem am I? Or turn it the other way round - when you slip into fear and anxiety become aware that you have now taken back control, confess this and surrender the control back to Him (casting your care over to Him). What a burden and weight releasing mechanism this is – no wonder Jesus said take My yoke for it is easy and light (Matt 11:28-30).
Hope - Zech 9:12 Amp “…you prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore double your former prosperity to you.”
As someone said “real hope is a constant positive attitude that no matter what is happening currently, things will change for the better. Satan cannot defeat a person who refuses to stop hoping in God. Become a prisoner of hope, someone who absolutely refuses to be negative, and get ready to receive a double blessing for your former trouble.”
Without hope we are lost in the pit of despair! Without hope we shall surely die. Remember there is always light at the end of the tunnel, the darkest night always has an end, there is a silver lining behind every cloud, the sun will always shine it’s just the clouds that are blocking it from our view. So it is with God’s love which is everlasting and never failing, and always shining, it’s just sometimes we cannot feel or see it! It’s in these moments we need to hold onto hope with the tenacity of a bulldog[2] – knowing that the dawn of a new day is just around the corner! It is just one more step away!
CHALLENGE PUT IT TO WORK
When worry, anxiety and fear attack you ask yourself these questions.
1. Does God love me? Does He have a good plan for my life? Does He know what is best for me? Is He all powerful, all knowing and all sufficient? Is He able to supply all my needs? Is He big enough to handle any problem in my life?
2. Who has control over this situation? Is it me or is it God? Am I willing right now to confess and give back the control to Him? (PS If you are in control – good luck to you – you have a long hard struggle ahead!!)
3. Will I hold onto hope and make a decision right now to be a prisoner of hope and to never let it go? (be a bulldog!).
If we truly follow this a hugh burden and weight will be removed and peace and joy will begin to flow in our lives once again (as it did when we were children). We will be free to live our lives as God intended – free of worries – free to enjoy life – free to love.
“…And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture” Malachi 4:2
[1] A footnote to all Zimbabweans. We live under extremely stressful, confusing and worrying times right now! But what we are facing now is what the rest of the world will face shortly. So an encouraging word here – we have the opportunity right now to put this into practice and be experienced warriors of peace by the time the rest of the world is in turmoil.
[2] My bulldog (never let go) hope for Zimbabwe. “The first shall be last and the last shall be first” (Matt 19:30) Zimbabwe is the last on every conceivable world list, but one day we will be FIRST!
1 Pet 5:7 Amp “Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.” [Ps 55:22]
What does it mean to cast all your cares on Him? Are we not even allowed to entertain one little moment of worry or concern? Not if we want peace! But how do we do this? It’s far easier said than done, that is for sure! There are many things in life’s journey that cause us anxiety, worry and fear and that’s just ordinary life – but what about this moment of time in history – this extraordinary period of time that man has never experienced before, where we face an incredible onslaught of evil in every facet of society, as well as famines, floods and increased natural disasters. How do we keep peace of mind in the midst of all that?[1] I believe the key is found in three simple principals:-
THREE KEYS TO THE PATH OF PEACE
1. Trust in God’s love, goodness, wisdom, power and sovereignty.
2. Surrender of control.
3. Hope and expectation (that things will change).
Trust- The key lies in what or whom we put our trust and hope in? If all your hope and trust is in a person or an institution or your money or your education or in a job, none of these things are stable and can crumble right before our eyes (just as the house built on the sand crumbles in the midst of a storm Matt 7:24-27). So how do we truly trust Him with every aspect of our lives from the smallest things to the really big things? The more we develop our relationship with Him, the more we begin to learn of His incredibly deep love for us, the more we understand that He never intends evil for us but has only good, a hope and a bright future planned for us (Jer 29:11) the stronger our trust in Him grows.
Surrender - It all boils down to one word surrender! Surrendering our lives over to Him. When we are truly willing to let go control and allow God to do it His way – no matter how confusing, strange and sometimes very slow it seems. We can make the choice – a decision right now to cast our cares on Him “once and for all”. When you are not in control of something you don’t have the responsibility for it do you? So when a situation comes along to torment you with fear and worry just remind yourself I am not the one in control here therefore I am not responsible for fixing this problem am I? Or turn it the other way round - when you slip into fear and anxiety become aware that you have now taken back control, confess this and surrender the control back to Him (casting your care over to Him). What a burden and weight releasing mechanism this is – no wonder Jesus said take My yoke for it is easy and light (Matt 11:28-30).
Hope - Zech 9:12 Amp “…you prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore double your former prosperity to you.”
As someone said “real hope is a constant positive attitude that no matter what is happening currently, things will change for the better. Satan cannot defeat a person who refuses to stop hoping in God. Become a prisoner of hope, someone who absolutely refuses to be negative, and get ready to receive a double blessing for your former trouble.”
Without hope we are lost in the pit of despair! Without hope we shall surely die. Remember there is always light at the end of the tunnel, the darkest night always has an end, there is a silver lining behind every cloud, the sun will always shine it’s just the clouds that are blocking it from our view. So it is with God’s love which is everlasting and never failing, and always shining, it’s just sometimes we cannot feel or see it! It’s in these moments we need to hold onto hope with the tenacity of a bulldog[2] – knowing that the dawn of a new day is just around the corner! It is just one more step away!
CHALLENGE PUT IT TO WORK
When worry, anxiety and fear attack you ask yourself these questions.
1. Does God love me? Does He have a good plan for my life? Does He know what is best for me? Is He all powerful, all knowing and all sufficient? Is He able to supply all my needs? Is He big enough to handle any problem in my life?
2. Who has control over this situation? Is it me or is it God? Am I willing right now to confess and give back the control to Him? (PS If you are in control – good luck to you – you have a long hard struggle ahead!!)
3. Will I hold onto hope and make a decision right now to be a prisoner of hope and to never let it go? (be a bulldog!).
If we truly follow this a hugh burden and weight will be removed and peace and joy will begin to flow in our lives once again (as it did when we were children). We will be free to live our lives as God intended – free of worries – free to enjoy life – free to love.
“…And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture” Malachi 4:2
[1] A footnote to all Zimbabweans. We live under extremely stressful, confusing and worrying times right now! But what we are facing now is what the rest of the world will face shortly. So an encouraging word here – we have the opportunity right now to put this into practice and be experienced warriors of peace by the time the rest of the world is in turmoil.
[2] My bulldog (never let go) hope for Zimbabwe. “The first shall be last and the last shall be first” (Matt 19:30) Zimbabwe is the last on every conceivable world list, but one day we will be FIRST!
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