Don't Worry! Be God's!

"Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you." (I Peter 5:7 KJV)

A good friend of mine gave me a little desktop "Promises of God" so that each day I can flip a card and read a different promise that God has made to us, His children. Rather than keep it at home where things are pretty calm and serene, I decided to bring it to work where the little demons of frustration, anxiety, anger, political correctness and secularism run rampant. My thinking was that I probably needed to be reminded of God's promises more at work than at home. So far, 'tis true.

Today's promise is the verse above. As I have sat at my desk all day and see it staring at me, it is hard to not think upon the meaning. The reality of this promise has become clearer and more powerful as the day has gone on. What are your cares and worries? Job security? Not having nearly enough money for the bills? Your family? Recovering from a divorce, especially one that was very bitter? Having too little time in your day with too much to do? Feeling like you are drifting away from God? An illness of a friend, family or yourself? I'm too skinny, I'm too overweight, my hair is thinning, my hair is just not working, I'm getting older, I wish I were older, should I change jobs or stay where I am, why do some people not like me? And on, and on, and on it goes.

We have all these things that fly through our minds during the day and even keep us awake at night. We obssess and begin to lose the perspective that we need. The perspective is that we are God's children, created in His Image and He loved us enough to send His Son to die for us. Is there a greater Love? Nope, not according to the scriptures. God wants us to live an abundant life, but how can we do that when all we do is worry and fret over earthly things. He wants us to love Him, love our neighbors and love ourselves, but how can we do that when our day is taken up with other emotions than the Love of God? He wants us to spread His word to our friends, co-workers and those we come in contact with, but how can we do that when we aren't feeling His presence in our own lives?

Jesus made the promise to us - to "cast all of our cares [worries, concerns, gripes, frustrations, complaints, etc] on Him, because HE CARES FOR US." He is God in Christ. He is the Creator of the universe. He is Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David. He is the biggest, strongest, mightiest, most powerful Being you could ever dream of existing. He can take care of you and your concerns and let you get about your job of spreading His Love to others. Think of the impact on your testimony as you tell how you God freed you from the worries of this world.

Does that mean you'll never worry about anything again. Well, if you take this verse and also the promise in Philippians 4:6 - "Don't worry about anything, instead, pray about everything" (NLT) as the truth, then the answer is no. You will never have need to worry. But, I tend to forget these promises and take the world on my own shoulders and try to fix all the problems singlehandedly. Then, finally, God will bring me to my knees and I'll turn things back to Him as I should have in the beginning. That's just the human beings that we are. But, just because we forget, God never does forget His promises to us. Read them, claim them, then Live them!

To close with a line from Annie Herring's song, "Mansion Builder",
"Why should I worry, why should I fret?
'Cause I've got a Mansion Builder who ain't through with me yet!"

Be God's,
Jimmy