Casting your Cares on the Lord
Ps 55:22 NIV, gives us a wonderful promise:
22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
These words are so dear to us, especially since mankind has always struggled with adversities.
1.Every since Adam and Eve were cast from the garden, mankind has faced distress.
2.It has come in many different ways and in many different forms. But regardless of the method, the struggle is just as real.
Biblical truth concerning adversity
It is significant that the oldest book of the Bible deals with adversity. Job was written even before Genesis. The trials Job faced and the questions he struggled with have puzzled the whole of human philosophy and theology for several millenniums.
Job, in his reasoning summed it up this way;
(Job 14:1), "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble." That would include us all!
A.A great lesson we can learn is this: Character and substance are shaped in the crucible of adversity.
We live in a skin-deep world. Our culture glorifies clothing, fashion, makeup, tummy tucks, and nose jobs. There may be nothing wrong with any of these, but in the end they are only cosmetic. Someone who lives a carefree life with no problems or trials usually will never grow spiritually in life.
Ron Mehl, a pastor who has battled cancer, summarizes this point succinctly:
“[Disruptive moments] always leave us with a list of things to clean up and fix. They are times when God restores to us the things we lose through negligence, ignorance, rebellion, or sin. For the Christian, [disruptive moments] are no-lose propositions. They help us to see and acknowledge the loose shutters, missing shingles, and rotten fence posts in our lives while turning us back to the only One who can make the necessary repairs.” 6
Unless there is pain in the formula, we will never stop to listen carefully to what He is saying.
We’ll be moving along happily, thinking we’re going somewhere—but in reality, we’re only spinning our wheels. We’re not making any progress at all toward the deeper things our Father longs to show us. Sometimes He must allow us to stumble along the everyday journey. We’re wounded and filled with pain, yet our disaster is just the opposite of what it seems; it’s the demonstration of God’s “tough love”—His determination to teach us and to make us wiser and stronger.
Life, then, brings all of us disruptions. It’s up to us to choose our response. It can make us bitter, or it can make us better.
If we choose to let the disruptive moment make us better, we will toughen up. We will face the bend in the road with courage.
Listen again to Gordon MacDonald: “The spiritual masters have taught us … that the one who would get in touch with his soul must do so with diligence and determination. One must overcome feelings, fatigue, distractions, errant appetites, and popular opinion. One must not be afraid of silence, of stillness, or of entering the overpowering presence of divinity with a humble spirit.”7
6 Ron Mehl, Surprise Endings (Sisters, Oreg.: Multnomah, 1993), 60.
7 MacDonald, The Life God Blesses, 42.
Jeremiah, David: A Bend in the Road. Nashville, Tenn. : Word Pub., 2000, S. 21
B. In these times of adversity, we can find comfort and strength from a familiar passage: Psalms 23 KJV
23:1 A Psalm of David.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
The Great truth of Psalm 23
• Give me ten million dollars, and one reversal of fortune may scatter it. Give me a spiritual hold on the divine assurance that “the LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1), and I am set for life. I cannot go broke with this stock in my hand. I can never be bankrupt with this security.
• Climb the creaking staircase of your house, lie down on your hard mattress, wrap yourself in a blanket, and look out for the winter of hard times. But do not say, “What shall I do?” Just hum, “The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” This will be the hush of a lullaby to your soul, and you will soon slumber peacefully.
Why is this scripture so comforting to our hearts.
I. Because it brings God before us in so endearing a character.
He is here represented as a Shepherd and a Host. The better we understand what this means, the more will our hearts will go to him in love and trust. He is all, and in all. Each of us may say, "He is mine."
II. Because it gives us such a beautiful picture of the blessedness of God’s people.
They are the sheep of his pasture, and the guests of his table.
Here in this world they are ever under his good and gentle keeping, and when they depart hence, it shall be to dwell in his house for ever.
The psalmist describes himself as one of Jehovah’s flock,
•safe under his care,
•absolved from all anxieties by the sense of his protection,
•all the simple pleasures which make up life -
•the freshness of the meadow, the coolness of the stream.
It is the most complete picture of happiness that ever was or can be drawn. It represents that state of mind.
III. Because it is associated so closely with our religious life.
•Though much of Scripture may be neglected, and almost unknown, this psalm is known and loved by all.
•We learnt it at our mother’s knee, and we have cherished it fondly ever since.
•To young and old, to the rich and poor, to the people of various lands and tongues, it is equally dear.
•At home and in the sanctuary it is in constant use. In the time of our joy it has been the vehicle of our gladness, and in days of darkness it has brought us comfort.
1.When weary it gives us rest;
2.when lonely it gives us company;
3.when oppressed with sin and care it leads us to him who can restore our souls,
4.and guide us safely through all difficulties and dangers, onward to the bright future.
In itself it is exceedingly precious, but in the light of the gospel, and as interpreted by our dear Lord and Saviour, its value is infinitely enhanced. Jesus "the Good Shepherd" is here, and his sheep hear his voice, and follow him.
IV. Because of his word to the weary
"Maketh me to lie down in green pastures." Man is a combatant; he has a fight to maintain, a work to do; and he shall have seasons to rest from his exhaustion.
He is a pilgrim-traveler. He has rest from bodily toil. So also rest from spiritual work.
Composure amidst distractions. The blessed end we aim at, and the certain issue of it.
V. Because He renews the exhausted strength of Man
(Vers. 2, 3.) Religious strength consists in the power to do and the power to suffer - or courage and fortitude.
This power to do - to conquer sin in ourselves and in the world - is strengthened by unshaken faith in God’s truth, and by the power of self-denial.
These are God’s gifts, not by any direct act of his, but as the consequence of striving to do his will.
C. In times of Trials, we have this promise; (Hebrews 13:5b), "…he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
We may walk though the valley, but God is by our side.
•David understood the Abiding Presence of God.
He wrote; (Psalms 139:7-12), "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee." He is the God who is there.
•Jonah found God in the belly of a fish.
•The three Hebrew boys found him as a fourth man walking in the fire.
•Paul found him on the Road to Damascus; on his way to persecute Christians.
•John found him on the Isle of Patmos.
Summery
There are those here today who have never been through this valley, but it lies ahead. Maybe you can see it on the horizon, or maybe it is out of sight. You may fear the future because of what you see. You may be questioning why you have to take this route. Surely God could lead you another way. You may feel you’ve been through enough already. And yet the valley lies ahead.
1.If you are swept off your feet, it’s time to get on your knees.
2.We are called upon to reflect the love of God as much in trial as in tranquility.
3.Cast your troubles where you have cast your sins.
C. H. Spurgeon
4.When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away your ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.
Corrie ten Boom
5.The church was born in the midst of adversity.
