As I was driving into work Wednesday, July 1, 2020, I heard God clearly say, “Launch into the deep”. He gave me 3 topics: Fishers of Men, Cast Your Cares, and Trust Me. He told me to write a 3-part series on these three topics. Here is part 2 – Cast Your Cares.
I Peter 5:7 tells us to “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (KJV). I have heard this over and over again. There was a time that I didn’t understand it. I couldn’t comprehend why I needed to cast my cares. The elders of the church would tell you that God is able and always there. An ever-present help in times of trouble. So, if He is all of this, then why do I need to cast my cares? I mean, He’s God, doesn’t He already know what bothers me, what makes me cry?
Then I remembered what I had been taught as a babe in Christ. Look past the words you are reading. Hear the words with your heart. Understand them in your soul. Cast means to throw, deposit, bring forth, to throw off or away. I am reminded of the woman whose tears adorned Jesus’ feet and then she used her hair to wipe them away. This woman recognized the divinity of Jesus before those that were to be leaders – the Pharisees – did. Luke 7:36-38 (NIV): “36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.”
I hope you saw her casting. I hope you caught the line of the fisherman. This woman didn’t wait for anyone to tell her who Jesus was. She didn’t wait for an invitation to sit at His feet. She decided that she wanted more out of life, that the way she had been living was no longer the path she wanted to follow. She made up in her mind to be more. Some of us get scared of that word – more. For those, they have it ingrained in their minds that wanting to be more is wrong, I say look again at this woman. There is nothing wrong with wanting more as long as it falls in accordance with God’s instructions. But we get so stuck on who we are that we can’t see the potential of who we are destined to be. Stop listening to those around you that don’t see you. I learned in my late 30s to reduce my circle of friends. That circle has been reduced by more than half. If you have Pharisees at your door, slam it shut and leave them on the other side. You will never get to your next with weights in your pockets.
This woman, who is described as a sinful woman was more powerful than the owner of the house. Sins can only stop you when you decide to dwell in them. How do I know? I kept reading. Luke 7: 44-50 (NIV): 44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
My study of these scriptures fortified me. They made me understand casting. Made me want to unburden myself to the only ONE that was able to wash away my sins. I began to understand that the Lord that I serve would never force me to come to Him. He’s standing and waiting for me to make the decision. Casting then becomes a move of faith and trust. It becomes a verb of the highest power. It becomes the more that I want and deserve. Casting took on a new meaning as I began to understand that it didn’t make me weak or less than. It has made me stronger. Casting is now the air that I breath as my faith, trust in, and love of God grows from one mustard seed to a vineyard.
Be A Blessing and Not Just Blessed
-- Nakya