Friends, Our God is so concerned about each one of us. He is our Creator. We all are in the Plan of God. It is God's Plan that the entire humanity may come to the saving knowledge of God and His Plan of Salvation. The sin that had become a hindrance to have a right relationship with our God. Even though, We are sinners, God cares for each one of us. He is ready to forgive our sins if we are willing to come to His throne of grace seeking the forgiveness of our sins by repenting in His presence from the depth of our hearts. Today, as you read this blog, you may be going through several problems, issues and facing lot of challenges in our personal life. You might be asking so many questions to yourself and as well as to God. I want to encourage you that God is the answer for all of your questions. Almighty God cares for you. Friends, Here is an article that has encouraged me a lot and I do here by share this articles just to encourage you to keep on trusting in God. All the credit of writing this article goes to God's servant Paull Roost.
Casting your cares on God.
PAULL ROOST
1st Peter 5:7:- “casting all your care
upon Him, for He cares for you.” One of
the benefits of this kind of relationship with God is the privilege of letting
HIM take care of our burdens. However,
unless we meet the conditions laid down in 1st Peter 5:5-6, we cannot claim the
wonderful promise of 1st Peter 5:7.
So, what are
these conditions.? Let’s read these 2 verses and see what they tell us:- 1
Peter 5:5-6:- “Likewise you younger people, submit
yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be
clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the
humble. 6. Therefore humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,”
Those who are
younger, whether in age, or younger in the faith, should be submissive to the
elders in the church.
Why.?? Because
these overseers have wisdom that comes from years of experience in the things
of God. They have a deep, experiential knowledge of the Word of God. And they
are the ones to whom God has given responsibility for the care of His sheep.
As verse 5 says,
ALL believers should be clothed with humility because it is a tremendous
virtue. Moffatt says of 1 Peter 5:5:-“Put
on the apron of humility” This is very appropriate because the “apron” is
the badge of a servant.
A missionary to
India once said, “If I were to pick out 2
phrases necessary for spiritual growth, I would pick out these:- “I don’t
know”, and, “I am sorry” “And both of these phrases are the evidences
of deep humility.” Imagine a congregation where ALL the members have this
humble spirit. Where all esteem others better than themselves.
Where they try to
outdo each other in performing the menial tasks like washing the dishes and
setting up the church.!! You know, such a church need NOT be imaginary.!! It
could and should be an actuality.!!
IF there was NO
other reason for being humble, the words in verse 5 "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'' should
be enough.!! The Lord knows how to resist the proud, but do you know what.?? He
simply cannot resist a broken and contrite heart.!!
That is again
evident in Psalm 34:18 which says:“The
Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a
contrite spirit.” Think of it.!! Almighty God opposed to our foolish pride
and determined to break it Contrasted
with Almighty God powerless to resist a broken and contrite heart.!! How
gracious is our God that He keeps Himself accessible to the broken hearted -
and always on hand to rescue the crushed in spirit.!!
This humility
spoken of in 1 Peter 5:6 is to be shown not only in relation to other people,
but to God as well.!! In Peter’s day the
saints were passing through the fires of affliction. They were being sorely
tested by many trials, crises and persecutions. These trials, though NOT sent
by God, were permitted by Him. The best policy, Peter says, is to take them
humbly from the Lord’s Hand. Don’t complain, whine and bellyache about them.!!
You don’t need to do that because God will sustain His children with His power
and exalt them in due time.
It’s interesting
to note that in the Old Testament God’s “Hand”
symbolized discipline AND deliverance. BOTH meanings are appropriate in
view of the sufferings of the Asian Christians
in Asia Minor, or, modern Turkey to whom this letter was originally
addressed. The words, “in due time” in verse 6 refer to the time that God has set
for Christ’s appearing.
Thus, the whole
destiny of Christians – whether it is suffering or glory – is totally
God-ordained. And
so Peter continues in 1st Peter 5:7
“casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” Now the NIV
makes this a separate sentence from verse 6,
therefore making it a separate and distinct ACT. But in the Greek it's
all ONE thought and so what precedes in verse 6 is connected to verse 7. In other words, the thought goes just as the
New American Standard puts it. "Humble
yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at
the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for
you."
The idea here is that as you humble
yourself before God you are able to cast your anxiety on Him. It's all ONE
action. One follows the other. And so, when the cares of this world cause us
anxiety we don't have to invent a new way to get past the anxiety. Instead, we
must humble ourselves before God knowing of a certainty that HE has the mighty Hand of power to take us
through whatever trial or crisis we might be facing. Casting our anxiety on Him
in the Greek literally means to throw whatever we have that we can't deal with
on someone else, namely God, who CAN deal with it. And then, to totally trust
that He WILL deal with it for us.
At that point it can cease to be an
anxiety, though it may NOT cease to be a problem. The word,
“casting” is ALSO used in the casting
of hand-thrown fishing nets. Just as it is imperative to RELEASE the weight of
the fishing net at the moment of casting it, - SO, the believer must also
release the weight of his problems and leave them there with His heavenly
Father.
The word
translated “care” in verse 7 means “anxiety, - the state of
being pulled apart.” I wonder if today you are here with trials and problems
that are causing you anxiety and pulling you apart.? When circumstances in our
lives become difficult, it is easy for us to be anxious and worried. But IF we
ARE anxious and worried, we will miss God’s blessing and at the same time
become poor witnesses to those around us, Especially to those who are without
Jesus Christ, and therefore, without hope.
There is ANXIOUS care, in the words, "casting all your care upon
Him"……., AND there is AFFECTIONATE care, in the words, "for He cares
for you.”Over against all of our anxious care is our Saviour's
never-failing affectionate care.!! Believers
are so privileged to be invited to cast ALL their anxieties on the Lord with
the strong confidence that “He cares” ALL of us need His inward peace IF we are
going to triumph in the fiery trials of life and bring glory to His Name.
According to 1st
Peter 5:7, we must “once and for
all”
give ALL of our cares—past, present, and future—to the Lord. However, we
must NOT hand them to Him piecemeal,
keeping those cares that we think we can handle ourselves. That would make a
complete mockery of this verse.!!
IF we decide in
our wisdom to keep “the little cares” for ourselves, invariably, they will soon
develop into big problems! Each time a
new burden arises, we must by faith remind the Lord (and ourselves) that we
have already turned it over to Him.
IF anybody knew
from experience that God cares for His own, it was PETER.!! When you read the 4 Gospels, you discover
that Peter shared in some wonderful miracles performed by our Lord Jesus.
For example:-
Jesus healed
Peter’s mother-in-law. (Mark 1:29-31),
Jesus
supernaturally gave him a great catch of fish. (Luke 5:1-11),
Jesus helped him
pay his temple tax. (Matt. 17:24-27),
Jesus helped him
walk on the water. (Matt. 14:22-33),
Jesus repaired
the damage he did to the ear of Malchus, the High Priest’s servant. (Luke
22:50-51; John 18:10-11),
And Jesus even
delivered Peter from prison. (Acts 12)
How does God show
His love and care for us when we give our cares to Him? I believe that He
performs 4 wonderful ministries on our behalf.
Firstly: He gives
us the courage to face our cares honestly and NOT run away. (Isaiah 41:10). He
gives us the wisdom to understand
the situation. (James 1:5). He gives us the strength to DO what we must do. (Phil.
4:13) He gives us the faith to trust Him
to do the rest. (Psalm 37:4-5)
Notice the
conditions in these 2 verses:-Psalm 37:4-5:-
“Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your
heart. 5. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in
Him, And He shall bring it to pass.”
There are some
people who give God their burdens and simply expect Him to DO
everything.!! However, it is important
that we let Him work IN us as well as work FOR us, so that we will be well
prepared when the answer comes. You know, worrying about tomorrow does NOT help
either tomorrow or today.!!! IF anything, it actually robs us of our
effectiveness today — which means we
will be even LESS effective tomorrow.
Someone has said
that the average person is crucifying himself between TWO thieves:- And these
two thieves are the regrets of yesterday and the worries about tomorrow.!! It
is right to plan for the future and even to save for the future, BUT it is a
SIN to worry about the future and permit tomorrow to rob TODAY of its
blessings.!!!
Philippians 4:6-7:- “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God; 7. and the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus.”
Is it really possible for Christians to be anxious for
nothing as this verse 6 says.? It certainly IS possible as long as we have the
resource of believing prayer. Everything should be taken to the Lord in prayer.
EVERYTHING means EVERYTHING.!!
There is absolutely nothing too great or too small for
our Heavenly Father's loving care. ALL believers, regardless of how backslidden
they might be, enjoy peace WITH God , BUT only Spirit-controlled believers can
know that blessed and wonderful peace OF God. This peace is
actually experienced, and includes
only those believers who are filled and controlled by God’s Spirit. It can be
defined as God’s reassurance and peace in our souls in times of crises, testing
and tribulation.
Let’s consider
the two rules as laid out in Philippians 4 verse 6:-
1. “Be anxious about nothing.” The word “anxious” here means “to be pulled in different directions.”
Our hopes pull us
in one direction; our fears pull us in the opposite direction and we are pulled
apart.!! Paul is NOT talking about concern here, but about panic. The second
half of verse 6 urges us to pray about everything with thanks to God. It has
well been said that the purpose of prayer is not to get man’s will done in
heaven, but to get God’s will done on earth. Prayer is NOT telling God what to
do or what to give. Prayer is asking God
for that which He wants to do and give, according to His will. (1 John
5:14-15). As we read the Word and fellowship with our Father, we discover His
will and then boldly ask Him to do what He has planned.
Richard Trench
(1807-1886), archbishop of Dublin, said it perfectly: “Prayer
is NOT overcoming God’s reluctance; - it
is laying hold of His willingness.”
Let's consider another verse that gives
similar good advice and instruction.
Psalm 55:22:- “Cast your burden on the Lord,
And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
The Bible teaches that worry for the
Christian is totally unnecessary.!!
There is no need for US to bear the burdens ourselves when the Lord is so
willing and able to bear them for us. You know, one of the outstanding sins of
the Christian is WORRY. We worry needlessly.
We know we should not worry; we know it will not help the situation -
YET, we persist in our worry.
Some believers worry about everything:
big, medium or small. Believers so often worry about things that will never
happen. We worry that they might happen.
Some of us worry about things that will never happen, OR, that never did
happen.!! It has been estimated that of all the things that a person worries
about, LESS THAN 15% ever happen.!!
Remember God’s divine remedy for worry
in Philippians 4:6-7? “ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by
prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God; 7.
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Worry is futile, it is a sin and it
hasn't solved a problem yet.!! Worry is a sin because it denies the wisdom of
God it says that He doesn't know what He is doing.!! Worry denies the LOVE of
God…it says that He doesn't care for you. And worry denies the POWER of God
because it says that God isn't ABLE to deliver me from whatever is causing me
to worry.!!
A Christian
should be prayerful about everything. And our prayers should be BOTH definite
and devotional.
It has been noted
that there are but two areas over which the Christian is NOT to worry:-
1. Those things
which he himself CAN change. Here perspiration and commitment is the answer.
2. Those things which he himself CANNOT change. Here humility in prayer is the
answer.
The two results
of this are found in verse 7:- “and the peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
The word guard
here was often used to describe someone or something which was carefully
guarded by the elite Roman soldiers of Caesar’s palace. Remember that ALL Christians enjoy the peace
with God mentioned in Romans 5:1. but ONLY those who have successfully
substituted CARE for PRAYER can enjoy the peace OF God which wonderfully
surpasses ALL human understanding.
Thus we see this
peace guards:-
1. Our hearts,
protecting us from wrong FEELINGS.
2. And guards our
minds, protecting us from wrong THINKING.
Worry is the
greatest THIEF of JOY. It is not enough
for us, however, to tell ourselves to “quit worrying” because that will never
capture the THIEF. Worry is an “inside
job,” and it takes more than good intentions to get the victory.
The antidote to
worry is the SECURE MIND and when you have the secure mind, the peace of God
guards you [garrison, guard like a soldier] (Phil. 4:7) and the God of peace
guides you. (Phil. 4:9) With that kind
of protection—why worry?
Perhaps I should
mention here that the familiar sign “Prayer
changes things” is NOT always
completely true. But prayer definitely does change US, by protecting us against
those matters which were driving us to despair. The peace of Christ also steels our
hearts against fretfulness and anxiety.
Psalm 119:165:- “Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to
stumble.”
Isaiah 26:3:- “You will keep him in perfect
peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
This, then, is
God’s marvellous method for keeping peace.
The
peace of Christ is tailor-made by God Himself to bring REAL happiness and joy
to our minds and hearts.
John
16:33:- "These
things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you
will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.''
Romans
15:13: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the
Holy Spirit.”
You know, if we're not careful we can
worry ourselves into an early grave. God's remedy for the turbulence and stress
in our lives is His own, special peace. His peace is internal tranquillity in
the midst of external turbulence and strife.
God's peace actually enables us to sit down and relax on the
inside.!! It will enable us to come into
a beautiful, peaceful rest while still in a mortal body.!!. We will experience
freedom from agitation and concern. Did
you know that when we worry, we take our case OUT of the hands of the Lord.?
Let’s look at a few verses to see how
important it is to take everything to the Lord and to LEAVE it there:-
Psalm
37:1-8; 10; 23-25:- “Do not fret because
of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. 2. For they shall soon be cut down like the
grass, And wither as the green herb. 3.
Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His
faithfulness. 4. Delight yourself also
in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in
Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 6.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice
as the noonday. 7. Rest in the Lord, and
wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. 8. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not
fret it only causes harm. 10. For yet a little while and the wicked shall
be no more; Indeed, you will look diligently for his place, But it shall be no
more. 23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the
Lord, And He delights in his way. 24.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds
him with His hand. 25. I have been
young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his
descendants begging bread.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23:-“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify
you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Thessalonians 3:16:- “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you
peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.”
By worrying ourselves to death, we
declare that WE know better than God does on how to handle our problems. We say in effect, "I am smarter than
God. I know how to handle my problems
better than He does.!!! “I am going to
work my way out of this problem myself."
Think about it.!!…with every problem
that we have ever had has not the Lord been faithful.? Has He not always kept that wonderful promise
in I Corinthians 10:13.? Hasn’t He always faithfully sustained you and provided
a way out for you.??
In every dilemma, in every problem that
you have ever faced, has not the Lord been faithful to you.? After the problem
has passed we often say, "What a fool I was for worrying."
The great apostle Paul had a recurring
problem, - a problem that clearly bothered him a great deal. He was frequently
being buffeted by a messenger of Satan which he referred to as a
"thorn" in the flesh. Three times the apostle Paul pleaded with the
Lord that this thorn in the flesh might depart from him. God's answer was not
what he wanted to hear:-
2 Corinthians 12:9:- (Amplified version) "But He said to me, My grace - favour and loving kindness and
mercy - are enough for you, (that is, sufficient against any danger and to
enable you to bear the trouble manfully); for My strength and power are made
perfect -fulfilled and completed and show themselves most effective - in your
weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weakness and
infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ, the Messiah, may rest -
yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell - upon me!"
Paul’s prayer WAS answered, but not in
the way that he had hoped for. In effect, God said to Paul:- “I will not remove
the thorn, but I will do something better. I will give you grace to bear it.!!
And just remember, Paul, that although I have not given you what you asked for,
yet I am giving you what you need most deeply. You want My power and strength
to accompany your preaching, don’t you.? Well the best way to have that happen
is for you to be kept in a place of weakness.”
This was God’s repeated answer to
Paul’s thrice repeated prayer. And it continues to be God’s answer to His
suffering people throughout the world today. Far better than the removal of
trials and sufferings, is the companionship of the Son of God IN them, together
with His assurance of His strength and enabling grace.
Notice that God says, "My grace IS sufficient for you,” There
is no need for us to ask Him to make His grace sufficient. It already IS.!! The
question is, - is it sufficient for you.?
Our Lord Jesus
Christ has three “spiritual commodities” that can be secured from nobody else:-
righteousness, grace, and peace. When
you trust Him as your Saviour, His righteousness becomes your righteousness and
you are given a right standing before God.
You could never
EARN this righteousness; it is the gift
of God to those who believe. “Not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved
us” (Titus 3:5).
GRACE is God’s
favour to the undeserving. God in His mercy does NOT give us what we do
deserve; God in His grace gives us what we DON'T deserve. Our God is “the God of all grace” and He channels
that grace to us through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16).The result of this
experience is peace, peace with God (Rom. 5:1) and the peace of God (Phil. 4:6-7). In fact, God’s
grace and peace are “multiplied” toward us as we walk with Him and trust His
promises.
IF you are older than 40, you may
recall the early days of the space programme. I remember the first spacecraft
launch with John Glenn. One of the most exciting and tense moments of his
return to earth was his re-entry to the earth's atmosphere. I recall the
diagram on television of the heat shield on the capsule that had to withstand
incredible temperatures to avoid complete destruction.
There was a blackout period for several
minutes in which mission control had NO radio contact. He was in the
"black hole." It was a tense time. Either he would make it through,
or the spacecraft would burn up in the atmosphere. There were several minutes
of silence that seemed like an eternity. THEN, mission control would shout with
joy when they re-established contact with the spacecraft. It was truly a time
of rejoicing.
Have you ever had a time when you were
in the black hole spiritually in your life? I have.!! The pressure was unbearable. There seemed to
be no sense of God's presence. - although I knew from His Word that He was
always with me through thick and thin. Once in this spiritual black hole, one
has very little sense of anything going on around you. God even seemed to be as
far away as the man in the moon -- at least from MY perspective.
I think every Christian who is called
to make some sort of a difference in this world experiences times like these.
These are the times when we sometimes question the reality of God, the love of
God, and the personal care and faithfulness of God. However, after a given time
of testing, He demonstrates to us that He was there all the time.!!
It may be said that BOTH trials and
temptations are often OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE SAME COIN. That is to say that BOTH
God and Satan may be working in the life of a believer THROUGH THE SAME
EVENT, One to purify him, - the other to
pervert him. (See Job 1, 2)
These
are
"faith experiences" that God does in every person who is called
to a higher level of service with Him.
These times are needed by us in order
for us to know that we have the "heat shield" that can withstand the
incredible heat that comes when we follow Him with a whole heart and a
determined mind. A heart and mind that
is fully committed to follow His ways.
Elijah had that spirit and
determination. He left his 12 oxen and
burned them so that He would not have the opportunity to return to anything IF
God didn't come through. I wonder how your heat shield is today? Can it withstand the heat that would want to
burn up everything in YOUR life not based in Him? Christ said that "My grace is sufficient."
Is that really true in your life? Have you found that His amazing grace which
includes His incredible loving kindness compassion and faithfulness is
sufficient for your life.?? Let His grace be YOUR shield today.
Does God care for you? You better believe it.!!
Is He concerned with everything that's
going on in YOUR life?
But He's also a loving Father who wants
us to care for Him and love Him as the loving Father that He is. He wants us to
trust Him and follow Him where He leads as we humble ourselves before Him.
God has a mighty Hand and it is a Hand
that reaches out to us with the desire to lift us up and to comfort and bless
us and strengthen us. Reach out to Him in thanks and let Him lift you up and
make you the person that He knows you have the potential to be.!!.
