Casting
Scripture
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
~1 Peter 5:7, NIV
Quote
The strong are not always vigorous, the wise are not always prepared, the brave are not always courageous and the joyful are not always happy.
~Charles Spurgeon {Lectures to My Students}
My Thoughts
The word translated cast is a compound verb which means to throw upon like a fisherman casting his line upon the water. The idea is of sudden motion; a deliberate quick fling or toss. It is what Jesse and I were doing yesterday. We were fishing for bream and we used crickets and worms. We would cast out upon the water and then let the hook go to the bottom and wait for the fish to pick it up. After you cast, there is a time of waiting for the fish to take the bait. Peter says we are cast our worries and anxieties upon the LORD. He is the object on which we cast. Jesse and I cast our lines upon the water not the land. The object of our faith is vitally important, we cast all our cares on Jesus because He cares for us.
Unfortunately, there was a time in my life when I thought it was selfish of me to cast my cares on Jesus; after all, He has enough to deal with without me running to Him with every little problem. I was midway in my first pastorate out of seminary when I realized my mistake. Jesus actually invites us to cast our cares on Him. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” {Matthew 11:28-30} Jesus said, “If you are weary and burdened come to me.” If you study the Psalms, you will discover that David did this all the time. He consistently casts his cares, his anxieties and problems on the LORD. Don’t forget that although Jesus took on a human body, He was God in the flesh. He can handle your problems and mine. Never limit Him or underestimate His power. I like what Paul said to the Philippians, “Don’t worry about anything, pray about everything.” Anything that is big enough to cause anxiety is big enough to pray about. In one deliberate motion, cast your cares in His direction. The moment you trust Him, your burden will be lifted. As Carol says, “Jesus has got this!”
I remember a little poem that I used consistently as a young preacher:
As children bring their broken toys to us for us to mend; I brought my broken dreams to Jesus because he was my friend. At last I snatched them back and said, “How could You be so slow?” “My child,” He said, “What could I do, you never did let go.”
The little rod I used requires you to hold the line with your index finger; at the proper time you release by taking your finger off the line. You cannot cast unless you let go.
Extra
Jesse and I had a wonderful time at Duck River. We brought home about 25 keepers. I only caught five but one of them was the largest catch of the day. If it did not weight a pound, it was close. After the fish had been in the cooler, I asks Jesse to weight it and he said it has already lost 25% of its weight. I said, “Not really, that fish will get bigger every time I tell the story. You know the old adage, “Do all fishermen lie or do all liars fish?”
LORD willing, Ty and I are headed to Oxford in just a little bit. We are going to see his cousin play softball. We can only stay for one game because I sure don’t want to miss the shrimp boil.
Moving a little closer to being ready for our November 8th open house. We got our kitchen tile down last weekend and trimed it out last night.
I hope you have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.
Extra/Extra
~Tonight Shrimp Boil at the Pavilion at 6:00
Everybody that reads the blog is invited. We will be outside LORD willing. Just shoot me a text and let me know you are coming. If it is raining, we will go inside. We will play that by ear. We need the rain so we are not going to complain. We will have a bean bag tournament if it is not raining.