Prayer: Dear God of All Help, we need Thee Today. Violence and Joblessness are the order of the day. People need help. Our systems are too weak to help. Only You can save us in Christ Jesus. We Thank You Lord for all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. We give you all power, glory and honor for ever. A-men
CASTING OUR CARE ON CHRIST
"Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." - 1PET 5:7
Casting our cares upon Christ is the only sure way of soothing sorrow. What can be a greater consolation than to receive the faith to believe "He careth for you"?
Christian! Do not dishonour the tender, caring love of your Saviour by always wearing a brow of care. Come, cast your burden upon your Lord. You are staggering beneath a weight that your heavenly Father will carry for you. What seems to you a crushing burden, would be to Him but as the small dust of the balance. Nothing is so sweet as to
"Lie passive in God's hands,
And know no will but His."
Isn't it true that most often our greatest concerns are with regard for tomorrow? Our Saviour gives us such blessed consolation in MAT 6:34 where He says, "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
Our blessed Lord gives strength for the burdens of the day--but we all to often attempt to carry the load of tomorrow with it. That is why our burden seems heavier than we can bear. O dear child of God, be patient; our God sends these trials in providence to prove our faith in Him, He has not passed you by in His providence.
See how our Saviour counsels His little flock to trust in our Heavenly Father's providing care! "And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" MAT 6:28-30.
In His infinite wisdom our God's purpose is to wean us from trusting in an arm of flesh. As we enter His service we find all our spiritual and temporal needs supplied in abundance. Our Saviour says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you," MAT 6:33.
Our tender heavenly Father, who feeds the sparrows, will also furnish you with what you need. Do not sit not down in despair; look away from the circumstances unto Christ in faith. See what He says in JOH 3:14, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up."
As long the Israelites looked upon the fiery serpents, they died, but the command was, "...Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live," NUM 21:8. Even so Christ must be lifted up before the eye of faith, and when we look away from our present circumstances unto Christ--we shall live!
Look unto Christ in a sea of trouble, our text says to, "Cast all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." Our loving Saviour cares. His eye is fixed on you, His heart beats with pity for your woe, and His hand omnipotent shall yet bring you the needed help. The darkest cloud shall scatter itself in showers of mercy. The blackest gloom shall give place to the morning.
Nothing heals any wound like the Balm of Gilead, i.e., the love of our crucified Christ. If you are one of His family, He will bind up your wounds, and heal your broken heart. Doubt not His grace because of your tribulation, but believe. He loves you as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness. What a serene and quiet life might you lead if you would leave providing to the God of providence!
With a little oil in the cruse, and a handful of meal in the barrel, Elijah and the widow that sustained him outlived the famine, and you will do the same. Seeing God cares for you, why should you care too? Can you trust Him for your soul, and not for your body? He has never refused to bear your burdens, He has never fainted under their weight.
Come, then, souls! Be done with fretful care, and leave all your concerns in the hand of a gracious Saviour. "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." Amen.
STILL SWEETER EVERY DAY
To Jesus ev'ry day I find my heart is closer drawn;
He's fairer than the glory of the gold and purple dawn;
He's all my fancy pictures in its fairest dreams, and more;
Each day He grows still sweeter than He was the day before.
His glory broke upon me when I saw Him from afar;
He's fairer than the lily, brighter than the morning star;
He fills and satisfies my longing spirit o'er and o'er;
Each day He grows still sweeter than He was the day before.
My heart is sometimes heavy, but He comes with sweet relief;
He folds me to His bosom when I droop with blighting grief;
I love the Christ who all my burdens in His body bore;
Each day He grows still sweeter than He was the day before.
The half cannot be fancied this side the golden shore;
Oh, there He'll be still sweeter than He ever was before.
- W. C. Martin
Lord Bless all who read these words in Jesus name. We pray for an increase in followers in the name of our Lord and Savior....
