A number of years ago during Thanksgiving week I was standing on the 5^th floor balcony watching my nephew and his 6 year old son fishing in the lake.  I was amazed watching Asher cast his fishing line.  He had strength to toss it far out into the lake.  He was a good “caster”.

It made me think of the verse in I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care (anxieties) on Him, for he cares for you.”  (NKJV)

It is easy for me to be a “worrier”.  I guess it comes with the trade of being a wife, mom, grandmother, friend.  Many times especially in the night I lay in bed and start to “think”.  At times I have had to picture myself “casting” my cares on Him.  That means I pick them up and throw them at Him!

The dictionary definition of “cast” is a verb … “to throw or hurl; fling.” That is not simply dropping my burden, or moving away from it but it is a definitive MOTION … the anxieties I am carrying I need to literally “throw” or “cast” them on Jesus.

As in casting a fishing line … it comes with practice to perfect my throw.

Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.”  David, like all of us, had concerns and fears that he is bringing to God. He wants God to take care of the problems he is facing.  David knows he can trust God because God has proven Himself over and over to David.

Much of the time we worry over things that are not in our control.  We can do our best and still not get the results we had anticipated.  We can’t dictate results to our best efforts.  We can’t make someone happy or healthy simply by the force of our own will.  When we try to force outcomes we carry a burden too heavy for our shoulders to bear.

Worry is a form of pride because it involves taking concerns upon oneself instead of entrusting them to God.

What a relief it is to cast all our cares on Him!  To finally learn to “let go, to throw, to hurt, to fling, to heave” our worries onto the only One we can trust to take them!

He promises to carry them, to sustain us and we know that He will work on our behalf.  Why? Because He CARES for us!  The faithful then must learn to wait on Him and His timing!

So work on perfecting your arm! Smile.  Learn to cast your troubles and worries so far out onto your Heavenly Father that you will be unable to pull them back in!

There’s an old song…

(OK, Connie … you have now preached to yourself!)