HAVE DONE WITH FRETFUL CARE

Casting All Your Care Upon Him

Come, then, soul! have done with fretful care,
and leave all thy concerns in the hand of a gracious God.

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). A verse I’ve held in my heart from a child. Something about knowing Someone care so deeply for us that He beckons us to cast all that concerns us on Him so we can live free from the burdens that so easily weigh us down. Incredible love. Boundless love. Unfathomable love. Staggering love. Providential love.

C. H. Spurgeon, in today’s devotional, acknowledges the tendency of mankind to allow burdens to crush and cause untold, yet needless, suffering. When we feel downcast to such a degree that we feel totally helpless to change our circumstances, we know that we have taken a burden upon our own shoulders — one that is not meant for us to carry. The author puts it this way: “What seems to you a crushing burden, would be to him but as the small dust of the balance. Nothing is so sweet as to ‘Lie passive in God’s hands, and know no will but his.’"

My earthly daddy was an avid fisherman. He loved being on the lake, casting his line into the water, hoping to reel in a big catch. Oh, and he had some fish tales to tell — some I’ve helped share along the way!  I used to love to watch him adjust the rod and reel in his hand, make sure the line was perfectly taught, rear back his strong and muscular arms and cast that lure or bait into the water. It was an art … something he had practiced over and over again.

In like manner, the casting of our cares over on Him should become routine by practicing it over and over again. Granted, we’re not going to reel in a big trophy-worthy fish. But even better, in return we will gain peace where there was turmoil, calm where there was worry, hope where there was hopelessness, provision where there was lack, companionship where there was lonliness, and so much more.

God has provided all we need, even if we don’t see it in the midst of our burdens. When people discourage you, God offers encouragement. When your finances fall apart, God will make a way even if it’s not the way you had planned or hoped for. When your children’s choices sorely disappoint you, God has invited us to trust Him when it comes to our children who have been raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In fact, for every burden, for every disappointment, for every tear, there is a precious promise from the Father which is an invitation to cast the care over on Him of that which oppresses and discourges you.

"Cast your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” In Spurgeon’s words, “Come, then, soul! Have done with fretful care, and leave all thy concerns in the hand of a gracious God."

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(Based on C. H. Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening: Daily Readings for January 6)