Jump Start # 436

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1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

We begin a new thought with this Jump Start. When we started this over a year ago the original purpose was to help folks read a passage a day and to provide some insights that would help them. Our first 30 Jump Starts were based upon the book of Proverbs. Those were printed in a neat book. We continue to use that book in many applications. We followed that with a second thirty on Psalms. That, too, was printed. Then another thirty on the life of Jesus. That was the final book that we printed. I thought for a long time that I wanted to have a fourth book on the theme of comfort. I have seen many times when I wish I had something to give someone that would help them when there has been a loss in their family, something specifically designed for comfort that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. I have not found anything like that. Starting with this Jump Start, I will write 30 short Jump Starts dealing with hope, comfort and the caring Lord. This hopefully will be printed and can be used as a means to help one another.

We live in difficult times. Actually, we always live in difficult times. There always seems to be wars, family issues, economic uneasiness and problems. Anxious times and fearful moments are not uncommon for many of us. These are the times that we must hold on to our faith and believe and trust in the Lord.

The pages of the Bible are filled with similar thoughts, such as the young mothers who witnessed the death of their babies by the hands of Pharaoh and years later, Herod. We read of storms upon the seas, and famines and wars and we find the people of God crying out to the Lord. The Lord hears. The Lord responds.

Tough times often separates the men from the boys is something many of us have heard all of our lives. More accurately, tough times will separate the people of faith from those who really do not have faith. When the storms come, some houses stand because the people took the time to build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. Others didn’t. The storms destroyed whatever faith they had. They collapsed in ruin. Hopeless and helpless they blame God and become bitter because of what happened.

We see so many people today who hurt. My prayer is that you can help them through these simple writings. Knowing what to say to hurting people is hard.

Come join us on this thirty day adventure, “Starting with Hope.”

Roger

Jump Start # 330

1 Peter 5:7 “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you”

  God cares! He cares because He loves us. The children sing, “Jesus loves me this I know…” Sometimes, as adults, we don’t know that, or else, we’ve forgotten that. The innocent world of a child is filled with playing, snacks and naps. It’s when those children grow up that they are exposed to the harshness of job layoffs, cancer, mounting debt, storms in the night. These realities put fear in our hearts and doubt in our minds. We know God is there but He’s hard to see in the darkness of a storm.

  Peter reminds us. He not only tells us that God cares but that we should cast all of our anxiety upon Him. The word “casting” means to throw off. It is the idea of someone burdened down with a heavy load. He’s about to fall because of the weight he is carrying. Finally, he throws off the weight. He can stand again. He can continue on his journey. This is what the apostle tells us to do. Throw off those heavy weights.

  Peter gives us more. Counselors will tell us not to deal with too many things at once. They will instruct on how to not think about some problems. Peter’s words are different. We are giving our anxious moments to God. It’s more than just casting them off, it is transferring them to God. God who is in charge of all things. God who can do things when no one else can. God who is greater than all. Give your problems to God. He can do things. Your mother can’t. The government won’t. Churches will let you down. Your friends have their own problems. Give them to God. He can handle it.

  How do you give them to God? Prayer. “Take it to the Lord in prayer,” is a hymn that illustrates this very idea. Pray to God about what burdens you. God can open doors. God can make opportunities. Giving it to God is the best thing we can do.

  Peter further adds, the reason to do this is because He cares. God cares. How refreshing is that! It seems that nobody cares. God does. God doesn’t want His children burdened. God doesn’t want you to journey through life with a heart filled with worry. God knows that fear, worry and doubt choke out His word. Those things stunt our spiritual growth. They keep us from becoming what God wants.

  The solution is not, “don’t let things get to you.” No. Instead, give all your anxiety to God. All of it. The big stuff. The little things. The personal things. The family things. The things beyond our control, such as weather. The things that affect us physically, such as health and jobs. The spiritual things such as faith, temptation and trials.

  Jesus told the disciples, “…at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart” (Lk 18:1). Losing heart is to lose the battle. It is to become discouraged and overwhelmed. Sometimes a person just feels like quitting—it may be the church, it may be a job, it may be a marriage, it may be life. Tired. Worn out. Losing ground. Things not getting any better. Do these sound familiar to you. We’ve been there. We’ve tried to do it on our own. We’ve tried to not burden God with our problems. We’ve tried to find solutions. But after a while, we realize things are not getting any better. We’re in over our heads. The storms do not seem to stop. It is then that we realize that we should have listened to Peter. He was right. Take it to the Lord in prayer is more than a hymn, it’s what works.

  Take a moment today and do some casting. Box up those thoughts, fears, worries and troubles and ship them to God. Don’t put a return label on them. You don’t want them back. You are not showing them to God, you are giving them to God. Your problems take on new ownership. They are now His. He will deal with them as He wills.

  You ought to feel better when you do this. Sleep should be more sound. Your color ought to come back to your face. Now, quit worrying about how God is going to work through those things. You gave it Him. Don’t be an “Indian giver” and expect God to turn them back to you.

  This is hard to do. We fight doing this. We feel like a failure in doing this. We think that we should have been able to deal with these things. The biggest burdens are the spiritual ones. Those are complex and layered with issues. God is greater than the problem. Give it to Him. In Texas, it’s dry and wild fires burn out of control. In the Midwest, it’s stormy with tornadoes. Different problems. Different needs. Same God. He needs us to journey on in faith. It begins by being able to transfer things to Him.

Roger