We’re using the summer as an opportunity to re-align our lives to the Lord as many of us step away and rest from the daily routines and demands of life. This week’s devotion is about casting, but not the fly-fishing kind:

IN WORD What does it mean to cast your cares on the Lord? We really need to know. It’s the difference between being sustained and faltering, between faith and fear. If we’re confused on this point, we will be riddled with anxieties and phobias, afraid to face the future and far from the will of God.
If we understand, we can go through anything with peace in our hearts. Our circumstances may not be easy, but we can be brought through in the safety of His hand—if we learn what it means to cast our cares on Him. Does it mean to offer up a prayer? Not necessarily. Many prayers have been uttered without a sense of peace. Praying does not guarantee internal rest. Our requests of God can be acts of anxiety rather than acts of faith. When we’re stressed, our prayers often even accuse Him of not keeping His Word.
There’s more to casting cares than asking Him to help. Does it mean to abandon any sense of responsibility because, after all, God will take care of it? Not at all. Casting cares on Him does not imply that we cease to care. It does not involve apathy in the least, and it is not an invitation to be irresponsible. No, casting our cares on God is much more purposeful than that. It is the most proactive thing we can do.
IN DEED It makes no sense to cast our cares on God and then take them up again. When we trust Him with our concerns, we ask Him to manage them. We acknowledge our own futility, and we rely on His power to resolve them. We actively watch, not ignorantly wait. We expectantly believe, not aggressively intervene. We act when He says to act and sit still when He says to sit. We obey His instructions because we know He’s in charge—and we’re comfortable with that. We can go to sleep at night knowing we can do nothing more effective than acknowledging His wisdom, power, love, and Lordship. We can wake up without a single burden, because our burdens are on His shoulders. We refuse to micromanage. We will hope only in Him, because He is where our cares have been cast. “Worry is an intrusion into God’s providence.” – John Haggai (in “Walking with God” by Chris Tiegreen)

At the guest home we were staying for our vacation, I came across a plaque that said, “Vacation is about doing nothing and having all day to do it.” But how many of us let work intrude into our holiday, so much that it ruins our vacation?
The same is true of our relationship with God. When we claim to trust God, do we claim back control over it and then miss out on the grace and provision God provides? Take time to read Philippians this week. It is one of Paul’s last epistles and written at the height of his spiritual maturity. As you read it, you will find how content Paul is in trusting God, so much so that he considers everything else rubbish. Meditate as you read each chapter and ask the Holy Spirit to help you improve your art of casting. Have a blessed week! - from Magnolia, Pastor Sam