Good
Morning All,
1 Peter 5: 7; “casting all your
anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
The fishing verse: this is how we help the
Sunday School and confirmation class try to remember this verse. Cast all your anxieties. 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. 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. Another 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 about 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 these past couple of years, the death of
loved ones, health concerns for you or a loved one, fickle weather, financial
ups and downs just to name a few. 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 your anxieties on him for he cares for
you.
Father
of grace, your loving kindness lifts us up every day. You guard us through your love to protect us
as your dear children. When I feel pain
or fear, send your Spirit to me so 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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