Casting and Resting in Christ

Stress is an odd enemy. My head says that I trust God and that all will be well, but my body is not listening. We go to the hospital and see our granddaughter in casts and bandages, and despite her good humor, and my faith in God as I watch Him bless her with an amazing attitude, my body protests as if the world is falling apart.

I did a search on AI and found that this is common. Even though the mind is relaxed, it takes the body time to catch up. This search gave these solutions: Drink plenty of water throughout the day to help prevent muscle spasms and inflammation. Be mindful of my posture when sitting, standing, and even sleeping to reduce strain on my muscles. Do some gentle exercise and stretching. Eat well and make sure I get enough calcium and vitamin D. And finally, incorporate stress-management techniques into my daily routine. 

Here is where biblical truths come in. These verses come to mind:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18)

In the NT church, Christians were scattered and suffered. Their worries targeted their faith and most certainly their bodies felt the tensions. Casting all care on the Lord was not about pretending life was fine, but to trust that Christ’s care is deeper than fears and stresses. 

Just before Peter calls me to cast my cares on Jesus, he says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” (1 Peter 5:6) Monday during Bible study I stressed that I cannot obey God apart from the Holy Spirit. Being helpless is the key to obedience because helplessness means I must depend on the Lord and not on any DIY method. This is the only way I can do it. Otherwise, I will try in my own strength.

One writer says, “Faith casts its cares because it has surrendered its self-reliance. Pride clings to control; faith releases it into the hands that were pierced for us. The gospel alone makes such surrender possible, because in the cross we see that God’s mighty hand is not against us but for us. The One who bore our sins also bears our sorrows.”

While the solutions AI gave are not a magical cure for stress management (AI does not know Jesus), the principle is there. Trusting God does not take away the stress of life or make me not care and become passive. His care is there and when I trust Him, my mind is given joy and eventually that proper time for exaltation comes, usually quicker than expected. 

Monday, I handled stress with truth. Tuesday, my body suffered incredible pain. I gave it all to Jesus, accepting it as His will. Wednesday the pain was gone. This is a spiritual war about being obedient to ‘love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:30), a battle that totally mystifies my doctor.

PRAY: So as I cast my stresses and the struggles of our granddaughter on You, the enemy wants me to worry and be anxious. Yet You are having Your way in her life — and I must not let concerns for her control my faith in You. I cannot base my confidence on nonchalance or what I hope will happen, but on Your grace, trusting that Your will is the important thing. Also, it helps to know that bodily reactions to stress and not the indicator of Your love and mercy. You will do what You will do, regardless of my aches or lack of aches. I will drink enough water and eat right and so on, but I will also pray without ceasing, casting my cares on You with thanksgiving, and experience whatever You send, trusting You to have Your way in her life, and in mine. You care and have all the strength I need. That is enough to give me rest. 

 

Trusting God’s Goodness

Looking at the power struggles in the world and hearing the desires of ambitious leaders, I wonder if they ever stop to think that none of what they want will go with them when they die. 
As I read Steven Charnock’s amazing book, I also wonder how many of us belittle the goodness of God by trying to run our own lives and make personal wants our rule for each day.

The end of Job’s story showed that even this man that God called ‘righteous’ was guilty of forgetting who God is and allowing the disasters he experienced tell him lies about God’s goodness.

Charnock writes extensively on this topic. His words are a challenge to condense, but have me thinking about how the world, even the church, and also myself react to the events of life and to the daily news. He points out how the devil, by his temptation of Adam, envied God and the glory of Him creating goodness. 

Even more, those who challenge God in any way forget that He sent His Son to suffer for us, and His Spirit to enable us, both expressions of His goodness. Refusing to live accordingly is a great ingratitude and a perilous sin. It refuses to admit or repent sin. It may think that if God loves His humble children, He is okay with those who rule their own lives, and thus appreciates human effort. This also denies His holiness and righteousness.

Those who trust Him suppose He is good, no matter what our eyes see, but any who distrust Him see evil based on what they do see. Why else call events like storms “acts of God” and refuse insurance for those who suffer from hurricanes and the like? Job expressed some of this suspicion in his misery: 

I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. (Job 30:20)

Many who profess faith in God ignore what He says, blame Him (or the devil) for all things uncomfortable, without considering that trials can be rebukes, tests, or disciplines. The Israelites thought their miraculous deliverance from Egypt and their security in the wilderness was intended to prepare them up for slaughter.

Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (Numbers 14:3)
They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel. They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe. (Psalm 78:41–42)

If a day is cloudy, do I distrust that the sun will not shine any more? If I have an ailment, do I distrust my doctor for the ill-tasting prescription given me? If I worry instead of pray, have I stopped believing that God cares? Or is my problem lack of humility?

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6–7)

To reject God’s goodness in favor of ‘I want what I want’ becomes foolish when I say such things aloud. Yet how do the leaders of this world react to such ideas? It is a wonder that any human can refuse to “lift up their eyes to heaven, and solicit nothing but the contrivance of their own brain and the industry of their own heads. They disown Divine goodness, and approve themselves as their own gods and the spring of their own prosperity. They run not to God in their necessity to crave His support, and deny either His power or the disposition of His will to sustain and deliver them. They must have very mean sentiments, or none at all, of this perfection, or think Him either too empty to fill them, or too churlish to relieve them; that He is of a narrow and contracted temper, and that they may sooner expect to be made better and happier by anything else than by Him. As we contemn His goodness by a total omission of those duties which respect our own advantage and supply (such as prayer) so we condemn Him as the chiefest good by an omission of the due manner of any act of worship which is designed purely for the acknowledgment of Him.” (Charnock)

Yet those who profess faith can do it too — built churches, hospitals, give great sums, as if God will free them from sickness, give them riches, and make them always happy, as if God will not to part with anything unless He in some measure is paid for it because He will not grant goodness without a bribe.

PRAY: I echo the psalmist and modify what I say to You from Psalm 9: “Arise, O Lord! Let not our foolish ideas prevail; let the nations and Your people (me included), be judged before you! Put all of us in godly fear, and let us remember that we are but sinners who need Your saving grace and who need to trust You and Your incredible goodness.”

 

Guard my heart . . .

There are several kinds of heart problems; some caused by hardened arteries, blocked vessels, injuries, or other concerns. My hubby has a stent. I have a pacemaker. However, not one of this list gives anyone as much grief as a troubled heart. The disciples found themselves upset when they began to understand that Jesus would leave them. So He said:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:1–7)

At one point Peter said Jesus should not leave them and He strongly rebuked him with “Get behind me, Satan” because Peter proudly thought he was defending Jesus. In reality, this man was thinking as many modern Christians do; that Jesus and every disciple of His is only blessed if life is without stress of any kind.

Peter learned a great lesson: the love of God does not mean being coddled. If hardship will make me more like Jesus, then hardship will be used. If He was willing to die for me, what does that tell me about my willingness to suffer for Him. Peter finally was able to say:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6–7)

In the list of heart problems, pride is close to the top. My pride thinks I’m too good to have trials so when they come, so does stress and deep inner sorrow. Spurgeon noted that most of our sorrows arise from within and said, “When self is conquered, sorrow is to a great extent banished from the human heart.”

That said, others would put unbelief as the chief cause of all heart trouble. Worry, anxiety and fear are the fruits of unbelief and every physician would agree these also wear out the heart. But if I totally trust and believe God… why worry?

Unbelief has other fruit, like covetousness or wanting something that God has not given. This lack of trust stresses the heart. God wants me to learn “in whatever situation I am to be content.” (Philippians 4:11) It is the same with envy (wanting what someone else has) and even with complaining about everything from bad weather, to daily news, to political issues, to who won the hockey game. This is saying without the words that God does not rule the world my way and puts knots in my muscles.

With a pacemaker, I do a regular heart check. I have a device that connects to the clinic like a phone and it sends a full set of signals to an expert at the other end. They can change the speed, know the remaining battery life, and report on how well the pacemaker is working. This is important to my physical well-being. How much more important to do a heart checkup with God by connecting with His Spirit and making certain all causes and issues are confessed and cleansed — and that my faith is fully in Him, not in anything else.

PRAY: Lord, forgive my lax attitude in allowing these negatives to do damage instead of dealing with them as diligently as needed. You are the Great Physician, not merely to keep my body working well, but to keep my heart right with You. Forgive me for missing far too many appointments for a check-up, or even just a chat with You.

Distracted by a non-issue

God graciously explains the struggles of last week. He reveals that I was concerned about a “what if?” instead of something that was actually happening. The distraction was: “If you do all that God says, the enemy will constantly attack and you will be in a joy-destroying battle until the end of your days. To avoid such misery, you need to choose what you will do.”

This reminds me of a friend who wanted to go to the mission field with the caveat that where she was sent didn’t have a lot of big insects and other crawling critters. She soon learned that loving others meant dropping personal preferences!

Yesterday’s sermon was about cultivating love. The application: 1. Cultivate community…reach out to lonely people, go bless someone else. 2. Practice generosity. It is always a greater joy to give than receive. Besides, generosity is an act of worship. 3. Contemplate God’s love and be driven to gratitude. (There is even an app to help that!) Remember why I am here.

This made me think about my anxiety and realize I was supposing and fearful rather than facing any issues in faith. God was not asking me to do something difficult or make a great sacrifice, nor was the devil trying to stop me from any direct command. Fighting an imaginary war is like a nightmare; not real but still feels as if it is — for a shot time.

Today’s readings describes the wisdom of God in making Jesus our Mediator. He is fully God and fully man, not distant from either, near to both in nature, possessing all of both except without sin.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15–16)

Jesus had a nature to be compassionate to us and victorious for us, to pity us and be patient to bear with us. If he had been only God, he would not have had an experimental sense of our misery; and if he had been only man, he could not have vanquished our enemies; had he been only God, he could not have died; and had he been only man, he could not have conquered death.

The justice of the law had been honored by man’s sufferings, but in Christ the holiness and equity of the law had been honored by man’s obedience. Charnock writes that the life of our Savior is a conformity to the precept, and his death is a conformity to the penalty. The transgression of the law was condemned in the flesh of the Redeemer, and the righteousness of the law was fulfilled in His person, and imputed to the believing sinner.

For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19)
For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3–4)

As he died for us, and rose again for us, so he lives for us. His work is finished and now I can rest in it and not worry about anything. Worry is pride in action. That is why God says…

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6–7)

Today’s devotional says that our anxieties refer to “distraction of mind” but God’s care signifies “fixation of mind.” This speaks to me and my ADHD, mild as it is but a target for the enemy! He uses it on me far too often. However, this verse helps…

You keep (her) in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because (she) trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

PRAY: Jesus, this experience was something like a vivid bad dream, so vivid that it seems real after waking up and requires strong self-talk to quiet the emotions. The enemy hits my mind like that, producing vivid emotions. He hits my body too, but You are in my mind and have given me the will and a stronger desire to love and serve You. The cost of obedience cannot destroy any of my new life. It simply points to the reality that I belong to You and am Your child, and even my body is in Your total care and protection. Not my will but Thine be done.

In all my need, Jesus

Yesterday was moving day. We are weary and face a mountain-sized to-do list to sort and settle. This morning, the Lord gave me a simple yet profound Word to start the day with great joy. It began with praise for all that Jesus has done:

“As we look at the life of Christ and listen to His words, we can hear God saying, “I am rest for the weary…” With that, the Spirit led me to verses that verify that truth, then the remaining italicized truths from the reading:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28–30)

I am peace for the storm-tossed;

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

I am strength for the powerless;

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I am wisdom for the foolish… righteousness for the sinful;

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, (1 Corinthians 1:30)

I am all that the neediest soul on earth can want;

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

I am exceeding abundantly beyond all you can ask or think,

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— (1 Corinthians 2:9)

of blessing and help and care.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:3)

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6–7)

PRAY: Jesus, what is left for me to say except praise to You and great gratitude. Your timing also, for this is what I need to remember this busy day!.

Proud of my humility?

Today’s devotional brings out an issue I’ve never thought about before. It is the notion that piety is fraught with doubt and fears, and when we feel that sort of weakness, we are pleasing God.

The writer goes on to compare this ‘piety’ with a child’s relationship with earthly parents. If the child thinks their parents will fail them, would that please mom or dad? If my parents thought I worried that they would let me down, would they rejoice in my ‘weakness’ and be pleased?

True piety means to be devoted to God. It is not about fear that He will fail but about knowing that He will not fail because I am the weak one, not God. Yes, this humility can be faked, even be about a false pretense of devotion that talks faithfulness but does not live it, but it cannot be applied to God.

Perhaps the opposite of true humility is a persistent trust in myself. I recall going for a walk and praying about problems and how I thought God should solve them. I clearly heard His response to my ideas: “Elsie, get out of my to-do list.”

At the time, I laughed at my arrogance and His reminder that I cannot do what He does. Now I’ve reached a deeper understanding of what it means to be weak. It can be physical, but much more. Paul had a ‘thorn in the flesh’ — perhaps an eyesight problem. Whatever it was, he felt this weakness hindered his ministry. So he prayed:

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8–10)

Piety is not doubt and fear regarding God but the realization that I am unable and have no options but to trust the power of God to enable me with whatever I need to serve Him.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6–7)

This is what pleases God! It could be any act of serving or obedience, even about what I eat:

But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)

Note that “whatever does not proceed from faith” includes doubts and fears, so to say these ‘weaknesses’ please God is an error because doubt and fear is sin — and sin does not please God.

So what is the point? I could compare my sense of being unable with those who trust the flesh and be proud of my weaknesses, proud of my humility? Sounds stupid in black and white, but it can happen. Far better to stick to true piety which is total devotion to God and not use my weaknesses as an ego trip. The best I can do is be content that these inabilities are what God wants for me.

PRAY: Jesus, You choose weakness and God used that submission to bring salvation to a sin-sick world. In Your weakness, it was not Yourself and Your weakness that took center-stage. Instead, You said, “Not my will but Thine be done” reflecting total trust and dependence on Your Heavenly Father and giving up every other thought or idea in order that His will would be done. Your piety changed the world. Enable me to be weak with that same attitude of not having my way but trusting Your way — totally.

The heavens declare . . . He cares for me!

In English, many uses of the biblical word CARES refers to burdens, worries or anxieties. However, where Scripture says that God cares for His people, this word means “to matter to or be important to” which begs the question asked by the psalmist and repeated in the NT:

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8:3–4)

Every now and then, particularly when I start thinking the world revolves around me, I go to the Hubble site on the Internet. There I am deeply humbled at the immensity of God’s creation and the wonder that He should care for this planet, one out of billions, and those that live here, me included. As the psalmist says . . .

I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God! (Psalm 40:17)

Knowing my relative size in His vast universe, my pride cannot remain. Yet on the other extreme of pride is that feeling of not being important, of not having any value. On those days when I slide into thinking: “There is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul” (Psalm 142:4), the same truth puts my perspective aright. God takes thought for me, a speck on a speck, a nothing in the universe yet someone for whom Christ died that I might live forever with Him. This is totally incredible!

My prideful thinking, self-pity, and all my cares and worries are covered in this truth from God’s Word:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6–7)

Another reality that blesses me is that He includes in that caring attitude everything that concerns me. As His child, He urges me to live accordingly. This was illustrated in the Old Testament with Him taking His people from bondage in Egypt and directing them to live as His unique children. He gave them laws for this unique way of life and a land “flowing with milk and honey” as a special place to live. This illustrates being set free from the bondage of sin to live a spirit-filled, abundant life. He puts His people in the world but we are not to be like the world. Instead, we are blessed in the challenges of being His ambassadors; we belong to a heavenly kingdom yet are cared for in this domain as His children.

One OT verse speaks of how God cares for this ‘place’ where we live, hinting that He not only cares about that former physical land but also the ‘land’ of NT living — the spiritual kingdom where His people live under His care in a world that often has no concern for our significance:

But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. (Deuteronomy 11:11–12)

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. My concept of the universe puts me on my face before God who placed me in it as a tiny, insignificant life -form that He cares about, even loves with an everlasting love. This is so incredible that words seem inadequate. How do I respond to a God who speaks to me through His Word and into my mind, who answers prayer and takes care of me? A God who created and sustains a universe the size of which I cannot comprehend and filled with amazing handiwork that constantly delights me? The only answer is that the glory of this caring God produces great awe and worship — even from this tiny speck who is privileged to see a glimpse of Him and to experience His incredible care!