by David Brenneman
"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you."
1 Peter 5:7 NLT
"casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7 NASB.
It is a happy way of soothing sorrow when We can feel that "He cares for me." Christian! Do not dishonor your faith by always wearing wearing a a look of
concern. Come, cast your burden upon your Lord.
You are staggering beneath a weight which your Father would not feel. What seems to you a crushing burden would be to Him but specks of dust on a scale. Nothing is so sweet as to
Lie passive in Goď's hands,
And know no will but His.
Letter XIX, HARVEY NEWCOMB (1833)
Suffering child, be patient God has not overlooked you in His provi-
dence. He who feeds the sparrows will also furnish you with what you need. Don't sit down in despair, keep hoping, and hope forever. Take up the weapons of faith against a sea of trouble, and you will overcome your distress.
There is One who cares for you. His eye is fixed on you, His heart beats with pity for your grief, and his all-powerful hand will bring you the needed help. The darkest cloud will scatter itself in showers of mercy. The blackest gloom will give place to the morning. If you are one of His family, God will bind up your wounds and heal your broken heart.
Don't doubt his grace because of your trouble, but believe that He loves you as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness. What a serene and quiet life you might lead if you would leave the providing to the God of providence! With a little oil in the jug and a handful of flour in the barrel,
Elijah outlived the famine (1 Kings 17:7-16)-and you will do the same.
If God cares for you, why do you need to care? Can you trust Him for
your soul, but not for your body? He has never refused to bear your burdens; He has never fainted under their weight. Come, then! Be done with fretful care. Leave all your concerns in the hand of a gracious God. - C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening
It's very easy to have a burden drop upon us and leave it there. We just buckle down and try to carry it ourselves and adjust to life with it. Either not thinking to ask for help or thinking that asking for help is a sign of weakness. At first we know not that as a child of God that we can unload such things at the feet of Jesus.
We are to learn to be like Christ and at the same time remain dependent upon Him.
Our lives are not our own. When we came to Christ we were purchased by His blood. An unbreakable covenant written in His blood.
Something that I think works with what Spurgeon said here is what Dr. Charles Stanley said in a devotional as well. "When we’re unwilling to submit ourselves to the authority of God, sin binds us. Instead of being under God’s rule, we’re being ruled by the very things that keep us bound in the darkness. We could list many things here that we allow to occupy the place only God should hold within our hearts. Thankfully, God freely offers us His grace, which covers all of our sins and releases us from their bondage.".
Our perception of life shapes our lives. We know not when we began adding things that occupy the place that only God should have in our hearts but my Dear Reader it HAS happened.
Don't believe me? Take just a week and upend your time outside of your work. Don't do or pursue anything that you normally do that consumes your 'me' time. Replace it with time with Jesus. Watch where your mind wanders off to while you do this. It's going to happen.
Take a look at what you have pride in. I am one who's reluctant to hear of being proud of something. My first inclination is to the passage about pride coming before a fall.
We are the first to need the eyes of someone else to tell us what we don't see in ourselves.
I sorely wish the professing Church would do more in the teaching of accountability among its members. I haven't been a part of a group in over 26 years and several churches and denominations where I have found one on one accountability being taught and practiced.
We are vulnerable when we aren't held to a higher standard in Christ.
We start making choices on our own that are questionable at best.
We don't consider asking because there's no clear path towards someone to ask.
We then are more vulnerable to being the prey of the enemy of God.
We start listening to the world on how to find success. We start to incorporate their ideas rather than the teachings of the Bible.
My Dear Reader really look at your life and what really has a place in your heart. There should only be one throne in your heart with only Jesus as the occupant of it.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6.
When we look at nature and more specifically at sheep. When they're not keeping with the main group they become vulnerable to being prey to anyone or anything.
When we're living the life that we're to be living we are going to see adversity. We should be very concerned when it's pretty much always smooth sailing. We grow closer to Jesus through our adversities not necessarily through all the peaceful times. A sheep learns dependence upon the shepherd through their experiences with the shepherd.
A tree cannot grow to be old tall and healthy without the storms of life to cause deeper roots.
While the things we experience appear to be heavy...when we leave them with Jesus we learn to deal with them properly.
When we remove things from our lives that are taking His place we learn what a truly right relationship with Jesus is all about.
Look at what "Love not the world nor the things in the world" another time. Don't trust your judgment in what's harmful and what you think isn't. Honestly, that's not your call.
You can't say you are trusting God with all your heart when you're deciding what decisions are yours to make and what are His to make concerning what's right for you.
We add a load of things to our lives that don't need to be there.
God cares for you.
God loves you unconditionally.
God has a better plan for you than you can imagine.
It may not look like what you think it should but when you know that you know that you know it's from Him you can trust it completely.
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
Romans 8:28
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Psalm 27:13, 14
“I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.”
Philippians 4:6-7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
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