Week
2 Abide and Adhere
Let
Go and Hold On
Cast
"all your care;" personal cares, family cares, cares for the present,
and cares for the future, for yourselves, for others, for the church, on God.
These are burdensome, and often very sinful, when they arise from unbelief and
distrust, when they torture and distract the mind, unfit us for duties, and
hinder our delight in the service of God. The remedy is, to cast our care upon
God, and leave every event to his wise and gracious disposal.[i]
Matthew Henry
A
|
s we journey toward freedom, the devil is going to bother us
like a bully who pelts small children with snowballs. He stirs up memories of
past sorrows and tempts us to fear the future, but adherence to the Lord leaves
no space in our hearts for repressed fears and sorrows. When we praise God, we
display trust in Him, and when we claim Scripture, we unleash the power of the
Holy Spirit through God’s Word.
People keep addictions for many
reasons, even addictions that cause them desperate unhappiness. When those
addictions are redirected (such as the substitution of smoking for overeating)
no spiritual progress is made; a trade of one burden for another gains nothing.
Our goal is to redirect our hearts from the world’s counterfeit (and
ineffective) solace to the Lord’s. He offers not only freedom from overweight,
but freedom, period. The enemy will
attempt to rob us of this freedom that is our heritage in Christ.
We all have remembered pain.
Sorrows from the humiliation of past sin, a painful physical ordeal, or loss of
a loved one all provide fodder for the enemy’s strategies against us. He wants
us bound by the grief of the past and fearful of what might happen in the
future. If he can keep our eyes on memories and fears (neither of which
actually exists in the present moment), he might distract us from the nail
pierced hands and feet of the Savior who bore these sufferings for us.
Memories of painful experiences
from the past can continue to wield power over current behaviors, fears, and
dreams. Here is deception-busting truth: Jesus, by taking our sins and sorrows
upon Himself, severed bonds to the past that otherwise would have crippling
power to influence us for the remainder of our lives. This is what it means to
have our sins removed as far as the east is from the west.[ii]
Jesus has walked with us through
every dark night and pain-filled moment. He never left us even during times of
sin or seasons of suffering. When he didn’t remove the pain, He bore it with
us, shortened its duration; and loved us through it. We may not understand the
whys of difficult days but we need not be bound by past memories or fears for
the future. We can choose to trust in our Savior’s love. We can cast our cares
on Him.
Pray: Lord, please free me completely from any
present effects of past sin: both from the wrongs dealt me by others, and also
the sins I committed of my own volition. Please don’t allow the enemy to rob me
of the freedom that is mine in Christ. Be in my perceptions so I see clearly
how You brought me through past difficulties, and create in my heart a calm
trust in Your plans for my future. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
…one
thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I
press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians
3:13-14 NKJV
So
humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will
lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares
about you.
1 Peter 5:6-7 NLT
1 Peter 5:6-7 NLT
No comments:
Post a Comment