Carefree part 4
If we cast our cares on the Lord (knowing and believing and trusting that He cares for us) we can be careful for nothing (1 Peter 5:7 and Philippians 4:6). If we leave our worries and anxieties in God's capable hands we can focus on other things. Like... love. And when you're focused on love... life gets better. It doesn't necessarily always get "easier" but it really does get better. Acts 20:35 tells us, "I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." Love is giving. If you're worried about what you have (or what you don't have) you're not focused on giving, you're focused on getting. And love is never about getting. Love is about receiving (what your havenly Father has already given you) and releasing (what you already have). So you have to receive first, so that you have something to give. Because you can't give what you don't have and you can only give what you do have. So knowing what you have is vitally important. And, in knowing what you have, you don't have to worry. You can focus on your blessings instead of your (perceived) lack. We have no lack because our God has no lack. He did it all so we could get it all. We are connected to the unlimited source of love because the God who is love lives in us! In Him we live and move and have our being! To me that's so powerful. We have our being in Him. Our identity is not only tied up in Jesus... our identity IS Jesus! As He is, so are we in this world. We are overcomers because JESUS overcame the world. It's not about what we do, it's about what HE did. It's about who we ARE because it's about who HE is! And, listen, Jesus felt things. He cared about things. That's not what I'm saying. I'm not saying you should harden your heart and refuse to feel. I'm saying, "Feel what you feel... but don't let it control you." I'm saying you don't have to be full of cares in order to care about people. I'm saying you need to (and I need to) get your priorities straight. You don't have to let every little thing that happens wreck you. When Lazarus died... Jesus wept. That's a proportionate response. That's something worth caring about. But sometimes we let small things become big things. Sometimes we make mountains out of molehills. Sometimes we get upset about things that really don't matter. And that, to me, can be both careful (full of cares) and careless. Because sometimes we don't realize, in the heat of the moment, how our actions (or overreations) affect the people around us. We blow up about something that really doesn't matter and we hurt people unintentionally. Point being--you don't have to let everything affect you. Some things matter. Some things really don't. And knowing the difference makes a big difference. You can let some things roll off you like water off a duck's back. You can be carefree. You can see things under your feet when you see Jesus. And when you see it under your feet, it won't be able to trip you up. You're above it. You're over it. You're not an overcomer because you "can" overcome. You're an overcomer because you HAVE overcome! In Jesus! We can have peace and be of good cheer because HE has overcome the world! It's all about Jesus. Which means it's all about love. Love conquers all and we are more than conquerers through Him that loves us! So don't worry about it. If it matters, take care of it. If it doesn't, let it go. And either way, share the love that you've been given wherever you are and whenever you can!