A little something to help you to remember to cast your care on God...

by Elizabeth Stewart

Are you a fixer? I sure am. I like to fix things around the house. I like to turn someone else's trash into a treasure with a little paint and maybe some glue and a few nails. Unfortunately, I also try to be a fixer of circumstances beyond my control and a fixer of people. If you want an exercise in futility and frustration, just try to change someone besides yourself!

I once heard Joyce Meyer say that her husband Dave says, "Do what you can, then cast your care." In other words, there are things that are our responsibility to take care of, and things we just have to trust God with. For example, I am responsible, with God's help, to be the wife, mama and nana that He would have me to be. But when it comes to changing my husband or children, I've got to cast all of that care onto God's shoulders instead of trying to fix them myself.

Did you notice there's a whole lot of ALLs in the verse above? No care is too big, and no care is too small, to give to God.

And did you also notice the words "once and for all"? How often have I cast my care on God, then picked it right back up? Too often! To help me remember the "once and for all" sometimes I write down what I'm casting onto Him,then physically put it down somewhere, and refuse to pick it up.

(In the past I've written my "care" on a post-it note and stuck it on the back of a framed scripture verse I had hanging on the wall.  If you would like to do the same,  here are two font styles of 1 Peter 5:7. Choose the one you like best, download it, and print onto printer paper or card stock or watercolor paper for a nicer look.  Using the glass of an 8x10 frame center the verse under the glass,lightly trace around the glass with a pencil, cut out and pop into your frame.)

When worry, anxiety, or concern springs back up in your mind and heart,  refuse to pick it back up spiritually and emotionally. You now have a visual reminder that you've cast it onto God's shoulders.

I love how this verse ends. God cares for me and you affectionately. He loves us! He also cares about us watchfully. He cares about the things we can do, our responsibilities, and the things we cannot do, our worries, our anxieties, our concerns. He sees them all, and He wants to help us with them all.

still following,

justfollowingjesus.com