Something struck me the other day as I was starting to get stressed out over something that was going on. I am the type of person who takes too much on and I feel that I need to fix everything and if I can't fix it then I end up internalizing it and that's not good for a person, it's not good for me. The verse "Cast all your cares upon Him (God) because He cares for you" started to repeat itself again and again and again in my mind. A simple statement loaded with purpose and meaning.
What does it really mean to cast my cares? What is it that I need to do in order to follow the direction given in that verse? Webster's dictionary states that cast can mean "to throw or fling;to throw off or shed." Better yet, here's what the thesaurus says. "Cast"-abandon, chuck, discard, dispense with, ditch, dump, drop, get rid of, leave behind, reject, scrap, shed, throw out, toss out, and unload." It's clear here that we are to leave, abandon, and unload our cares onto the one who made us. You would think that something stated so simply would be a simple thing to accomplish, but it's not. People, by nature, like to hold onto things whether it be out of fear, pride, uncertainty or a whole bunch of other reasons. I am not immune to this. I am just as human as everyone else. I struggle with the act of discarding, unloading, or tossing my cares onto anyone. I'm the type of person who struggles to let go of things. I like to think that I can handle it and that I can fix it myself. I tend to believe that I need to be the strong one and that I can't display my weaknesses to others for fear of rejection or coming across as a failure. I've been learning, rather painfully, the consquences of holding onto that. It almost seems like it's way too easy to do that, to give everything to Him and then that's the end of it.
This make me wonder what life would be like if I gave in and threw away those cares, let them pass from my mind. What would it be like if I allowed myself to follow that suggestion? I know it would be different. How different? I think I'm scared to see because as painful as things happen to be right now, at least I'm familiar with it. The unknown is a terrifying thing.
"Because He cares for (me)." Who am I that the God of all creation should want to take on my burdens, my pain, my longings and desires? Who am I that He should show me any consideration at all? I am a sinner. I am human. I am weak and full of pride. What would life be like if I truly believed that with all of my being? I can only hope to find out someday. The "Sunday-school" answer would be that yeah, life would be great! However, knowing something in my head and really believing it in my heart are two very different things.
"Cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for you."
Simply stated, powerful design.
Sometimes it's the simplest of things that are the most difficult to acheive.
No comments:
Post a Comment