Casting Cares part 3
When you cast your cares on the Lord--which is only possible because you know He cares for you--what you're really doing is trusting Him to take care of things. Or, more accurately, trusting that He has already taken care of everything! God declares the end from the beginning. He finished the work 2,000 years ago on the cross. And guys... that WHY we can trust Him! I don't know where this idea of, "Praising God so He'll do something," came from. It's totally backwards. And not in the upside down backwards Kingdom way either. You know how you can't give what you don't have? Well you can't praise God unless He has done something praiseworthy. You can't trust God unless He has proven Himself trustworthy. You can't have faith in God unless He has proven Himself faithful. And that's what the cross was! The cross--among many other things--was God putting His money where His mouth was. Jesus told us what love is. He told us that there's no greater love that a man can have than laying down his life for his friends. And then Jesus went to the cross and did just that! He TOLD us what love is... and then He SHOWED us what love is. Which, when you consider that SEEING is believing, becomes vitally important. We SEE how much He loves us, and then we can trust THAT He loves us. We can stop trying to figure out the plan, and we can simply be led by the Spirit. Those that are led by the Spirit are the Son(s) of God. Not because letting the Spirit lead you MAKES you a Son, but because only a Son can be led by the Spirit! Religions says, "Do what God says or else He'll get mad an punish you." The Spirit says, "Daddy loves you." We don't do what we do out of fear. We do what we do out of love. Perfect love CASTS OUT fear. I know it's easy to get caught up in surface stuff. Because it's right there on the surface. The world is screaming for our attention. The devil goes about as a roaring lion. But there's something deep inside that allows us to rise above the surface stuff. Rise above the earthly realm and into the heavenly realm. And what's deep inside? The heart! Your heart. GOD'S heart beating with love in your chest. That still small voice that is always speaking the Truth. But there's the key. It's a still small voice. You have to be still and know that He is God. The deep calls out to the deep. A still small voice connects, or speaks, to a still, quiet Spirit. If you try to do it--whatever "it" is--by yourself then you're not giving God any room to operate. In a sense, you're quenching the Spirit. But if you know that His strength is made perfect in weakness--that He already did it all and doesn't really need your help--then you can enjoy the fruit of HIS labor. The fruit of the Spirit. Which is love. Love covers all sin right? Love is the solution to every problem, and love is what is needed in every situation. When you cast your cares on Him, He doesn't leave you empty. You give Him your mess and He gives you a message! You give Him your ashes and He gives you beauty. You give Him your cares... and He gives you His love!