03192022 He Cares

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our tender, caring God. This is an astounding thought, that the great God of heaven not only humbles Himself to look upon us, but that He cares about the troubles we face.

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (I Peter 5:7). Sometimes, at least for me, I am so accustomed to Scripture language and familiar verses that I don’t grasp the impact of the truth. It helps me to ask the question “What does that mean?” - not just what do the words mean, but what is the practical impact? Sometimes digesting a verse and putting it into my own words gives me a renewed and fuller appreciation for its truth.

This week as I pondered the verse above, I arrived at this conclusion: “God cares about me so much that I can take to Him the things that trouble me, no matter what they are.” And then I just started doing that – telling Him about things that are troubling to me right now and relishing the fact that He cares. In spite of all the billions of people in the world, He cares about ME personally and about each of my concerns!

I know what it looked like for me to cast my care upon the One who cares for me, and I started thinking a little about what that looked like for people in the Bible. I didn’t go very far with seeking examples, but I did come up with the following. In the Psalms, it looks like this. “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 63:8).

In a New Testament example, it looks like this. A man had been sick for 38 years. He waited by the pool of Bethesda for the waters to be stirred, knowing he had little chance of being the first one to enter them and be healed. Jesus saw him “and knew that he had been now a long time in that case” and asked if he wanted to be healed. The man cast his care upon the One who cared for him. He said, “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.” The One who cared responded with immediate healing, and the man walked for the first time in 38 years! (John 5)

In an Old Testament example, it looks like this. A woman was one of two wives. The other woman had children, but she had none. Year after year she longed for children. Year after year the other woman “provoked her sore, for to make her fret” because she had no children. She was so burdened with care about this situation that “she wept, and did not eat.” Her heart was grieved, and “she was in bitterness of soul” and “wept sore.” Then she cast her care upon the One who cared for her. She “poured out [her] soul before the LORD.” The One who cared for her responded with a promise, conveyed through the priest, that her petition would be granted. She had not just one son, but three sons and two daughters! (I Samuel 1-2)

The fact that He cares does not mean that God will always give immediate or dramatic results, as in these two stories. But sometimes He will. And always He will care. He will give grace to help in our time of need. He will sustain our souls. He will give His best answer in His best time. His compassionate heart will care and will gladly carry that burden for us. So what are the things that trouble you today? Cast them on the One who cares for you. May you find rest and peace in His loving care.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA