Cast Your Cares
Cast Your Cares
All around us people are hurting. Some are suffering a great loss while others feel hopeless and alone. Some have minor problems and others have huge problems. Most of us find ourselves worrying and focusing on our fears of what might happen, what might come about. Oh, that is what Satan wants us to do. He wants us stuck in our grief. He wants us to feel alone and desperate. He wants us to focus on what is wrong, to worry and be anxious, and to be filled with fear. But…what in the world are we thinking? We have a Heavenly Father who sent His only Son who became our Savior. We are never alone. He is constant in our life and is our one true Friend. Cast your cares on Him. He is far bigger than any care we have. In John 10:10 Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
How do we do that? How do we cast our cares on Him and live the abundant life? How do we stop letting the Devil steal our joy, kill our hopes and dreams and destroy our peace? Well, I read this story in my “Streams in the Desert” devotional and thought it painted such a clear picture of what we do and the change we need to make…
“A prominent believer once told of his mother, who was a very anxious and troubled Christian. He would often talk with her for hours, trying to convince her of the sinfulness of worrying, but to no avail. She was like the elderly woman who once said that she had suffered a great deal, especially from the troubles that never came.
Then one morning his mother came to breakfast with a smile adorning her face. He asked her what had happened, and she began describing a dream she had in the night. In her dream, she was walking along a highway with a large crowd of people, all carrying little black bundles, and she noticed that more bundles were being dropped along the way by numerous repulsive-looking creatures that seemed quite demonic in nature. As the bundles were dropped, the people stooped down to pick them up and carry them.
Like everyone else in her dream, she also carried her needless load, being weighted down with the Devil’s bundles. After a while, she looked up and saw a Man whose face was loving and bright as He moved through the crowd, comforting the people. Finally He came to her, and she realized it was her Savior. She looked at Him, telling Him how tired she was, and He smiled sadly and said, “My dear child, these bundles you carry are not from me, and you have no need of them. They are the Devil’s burdens, and they are wearing out your life. You need to drop them and simply refuse to touch them with even one of your fingers. Then you will find your path easy, and you will feel as if ‘I carried you on eagles’ wings’ [Exodus 19:4].”
The Savior touched her hand, and peace and joy quickly filled her soul. As she saw herself in her dream casting her burdens to the ground and ready to throw herself at His feet in joyful thanksgiving, she suddenly awoke, finding that all her worries were gone.
From that day forward to the end of her life, she was the most cheerful and happy member of her family.
When we cast our cares on Jesus, we can experience the abundant life He came to offer. We can become cheerful and filled with His peace and His joy.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22
Cast your cares on the One who cared enough to suffer and die for you. Is it easy? No. It is something we have to practice day after day. We may cast our cares on Him, laying them at the foot of the cross – but then we go back and pick them back up. All we need to do is go cast our cares again and put them back down. We can present all our worries, anxieties, and problems to our Savior. He is bigger than anything we face. He is enough to see us through.
Merry Christmas to you! May this Christmas be full of peace and joy and love – not because your life is easy – but because Jesus is peace and joy and love. He is worth the celebration!