Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6–7
In the parable of the sower in Mark 4. The seeds that fell among thorns were choked, and they didn’t yield a crop. These seeds represent God’s Word. Over the next few days, we’re going to examine three ways thorns can choke you, or in other words, prevent you of hearing the Word of God. The first way they can keep you from the Word is by weighing you down with the cares of the world.
Has anyone ever told you to “take care”? It’s a good saying that means to be careful. But one time I heard it and thought, “I really don’t like that saying.” I don’t actually want to take care with me. Here’s what I want to do with care: I want to cast care. 1 Peter 5:7 says to “[cast] all your care upon Him.” You weren’t designed to carry care, you were designed to cast it. And when you try to carry it on your own, you’re in trouble.
I wonder how many of us aren’t really casting our cares on the Lord. I hear so many people say that they’re burdened with cares—finances, the economy, the world, their kids—and that they’ve given them to God many times. But how can you give something to another person so many times unless you’re taking it back each time? I’m not sure we’re actually giving them to God at all. Here’s the danger in that: even if you’re reading the Bible, the cares of this world can choke the Word of God if you keep hanging onto them.
Think about this. Have you ever been in a service trying to worship and hear the Word, but your mind keeps wandering and worrying? You can’t focus because the cares of this world keep rising up inside of you—maybe you had a fight with your spouse on the way to church, you’re having trouble with a friend, or you don’t know how you’re going to pay the rent this month. If you want to truly take in the Word of God, you have to cast your cares upon the Lord. He’s the only one who can carry them, and one of the reasons He does is so you can have peace. Are you ready to cast all your cares on Him? He is ready and waiting to take them.
PRAYER
Lord, thank You that I don’t have to hold onto the cares of this world. Right now, I give You all the things in my life that worry me. I’m not going to carry them anymore. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
FOR FURTHER STUDY
Psalm 37:5–6; Psalm 55:22; Matthew 6:25–27; John 16:33; Philippians 4:6–7; Hebrews 13:5
Taken from It Is Written, a Gateway devotion.
