When we give God the responsibility of handling our needs, cares and concerns we will see how much He cares for us. In 1 Pet. 5:6, the word ‘cast’ means to haul, to throw. Literally, it means to severe your ‘holding-on’ to that particular thing, and throw it at somebody else and having that sense of relief.
“Casting your cares means to place them at His feet.”
Your cares are those things that create anxiety within you. They are your own private concerns which, on a daily basis, you talk to God about.
When a couple decides to leave their child in the care of somebody else, and keeps calling every 1 hour to ask how s/he is doing, it shows there’s anxiety in them. This couple is not confident in the care that this Nanny or Care Giver has over that particular child.
However, this is not the nature of God. If you place your child in the care of somebody, you want that care giver’s eye to be always on the child. So When you cast something over unto the Lord, like placing this child under His care, His eyes are constantly on him or her, and there’s no negligence on His part.
The care of God causes things to spring forth areas which you weren’t expecting. When you open your heart to love the Lord and to serve him with all of your heart and soul, without you caring about your needs and wants, He gives you rain in your land in due season – the first rain and the latter rain that you may gather in corn and wine. That is, things start to spring up in all those areas where God’s eye is on.
So for the next 21 days, focus your heart on the love of God and choose to serve Him, and see what this practice will accomplish in your life. It will change your perspective and approach towards Christianity. It has been said that if you want to achieve something (or get results you have never gotten) then you would do things that you have never done.
According to Isaiah 64: 1 – 5, God wants to do terrible things in righteousness, and this requires that we wait on Him.
“To wait for God is a deliberate thing. When you wait on God you are waiting for a visitation from Him”.
There are two things we do as we wait deliberately for the Lord – rejoicing and working righteousness. Like we see in Job 35:8, when you are working righteousness you are being profitable unto the men that are around you which is exactly the focus of this 21 days – challenge. As you cast your care unto the Lord, rejoicing and worshiping God; not allowing your care and concerns to regulate your mood.
By the way, never evaluate the way in which you worship God in the light of those things around you. Cast them unto the Lord. Tell Him all that is bordering you, and make sure you’re not affected by them all through these 21 days.
Purpose in your heart that, “I am going to rejoice in these 21 days, and I am going to be profitable unto men”.
Psalm 50:23 says, “Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me; And unto him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.” The one who offers praise is the same person that rejoices and glorifies God. In the scriptures there are seven attributes of God. Praising God requires that you acknowledge these attributes (or nature) of God. You verbalize them with words during worship.
“The seven attributes are His love, His majesty, His righteousness, His integrity, His justice, His Mercy, His faithfulness”.
In reading Psalm 50:16-23, God says two things – offer praise and then order your conversations aright. Conversation (which means behavioral pattern) is the way and manner in which you conduct your affairs. And God says if you order that conversation aright I will show my salvation. Therefore, what you are to do during prayer is to ask God to teach you how to be of service to your fellow man.
“Worship is praising God, not for the things He has done but who He is. Worship is about an acknowledgment of the virtue. It has nothing to do with his manifestations on the outside but with His person”.
Ask Him to open up your eyes to see things that you are missing in your relationship with other people. When He begins to show you, and start making the adjustments, you will see His salvation.
Other scriptures used during the sermon were;
Hebrews 13:15
2 Corinthians 8:1-5
Act 17: 22-24
2 Chronicles 5:13
