Good Morning All,
When we think of casting it is usually
along the line of the way a fly fisherman casts his lightweight fly onto the
stream trying to trick the trout into biting it or maybe the bass fisherman who
casts into the lake to catch a bass or two.
The only problem with this image is that, at least on TV, it is
easy. It only takes a little flick of
the wrist and the bait and the hook go sailing into the water at the exact spot
that the fisherman wants it. But the
image that the Bible wants us to see is a little different.
There are a few ways to look at this. First we can see it as casting as in casting
those big fishing nets which the fishermen who do it for a job use. In Jesus’ day, that was back breaking
work. The nets were heavy and casting
and pulling them in all night took all the energy one could muster. The second way is to think of casting out
some refuse or garbage. Think of having
cleaned up an area of dirt and sweeping it onto a plastic garbage bag, tying
the bag up and then casting or throwing the bag into the dumpster. A third way is to think of gathering up your
possessions in a bag and then throwing the bag over your mule or donkey and
having the donkey carry the load.
The idea is that the burdens of our life;
we do not have to carry them all by ourselves.
God is there to carry the load for us all because He loves. Sometimes we think a little too
simplistically with this. We think that
nothing in our life will ever cause us pain because we have cast our troubles
to God. Then when we face the pain of
death of a loved one, illness, job loss, relationship failures, etc.; we blame
God.
However, God shows his love and care for
us in some ways that, if we trust in Him, to face the challenges of life. We will face these challenges but we do not
have to fear or be anxious about them.
First, God gives us the courage to face our trials head on and not try
and run away. We know that God is with
us and will see us through. Second he
gives us some wisdom or understanding about the challenge. He will help us to see that through this
trial, God is molding us and shaping us into the disciple that He wants us to
be and that he is drawing us into a closer relationship with Him. The third thing God does for us is to give us
strength to face our challenges. Some of
you have faced incredible challenges this past year; yet God has given you the
strength to continue on, usually day by day to start, but to continue on your
journey.
Finally, and most importantly, God gives
us the faith to trust in Him to take care of it all especially the parts that
we just cannot handle. God sends his Spirit
of comfort arriving in the hands of those around us who love us and are God’s
hands at those times when we need a hand to hold or a shoulder to lean on or
cry on. God cares for you so don’t carry
the burden all by yourself, cast you anxieties on him for he cares for you.
Father of grace, your loving kindness lifts
us up every day. Send your Spirit to me
that I may know comfort and rest. When
those around me feel pain and distress, use me as your hands to comfort them
with your love. In Jesus’ precious name
we pray, amen.
God’s
Peace,
Pastor
Bret
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