|
Does God
Really Care? We have all known of people who became a Christian and they were on fire for God at first. After a time they began to cool off. They became weary trying to live the Christian life. They muster up courage and with right motives they try to keep that old fire alive. Sometimes we all find our selves in that same situation to one degree or another. Living up to a Christian commitment becomes a real burden because we try to do it in our own strength. We forget we have the responsibility to stay in fellowship with God. We become overwhelmed and defeated. That responsibility is our burden. "Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you" (I Peter 5:7). "Cast you burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee;" (Psalm 55:22). The word "burden" here is "load, a load that can be unloaded" as in the load placed on a "beast of burden." Some burdens should never be carried, such as the burden of doubt, fear, worry and guilt. But some burdens have been placed upon us as Christian believers by God. These are responsibilities that come with being a child of God. These are the burden we turn back upon God. This is the care we cast upon Him. If we want answers to prayer we cannot "ask amiss," (that is to ask in a way that is not in accordance with God's Word). If we want health and healing, we have to stay in fellowship with God enough to receive it. If we want prosperity we must not try to achieve what we think is prosperity by "doing things" on our own. If we want to see the power of God in our life we must trust God who gives us power. Do we feel a burden to read and study the Bible or to attend fellowship meetings? We should not think of these as a burden or a chore. If it is a burden, give it to God, and be set free of that burden. You see, we do have some burdens (cares and responsibilities) that are placed upon us. These are what we should turn over to God, who will help us learn and fulfill these responsibilities. When we turn them over to God he will strengthen and bless us. Remember Psalm 55:22? God says, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord," but He also says, "and he shall sustain thee;" We have been trying to carry the entire "load" by ourselves, but we need to make a deliberate and conscious effort to place it on Christ's shoulders. Jesus Christ became our burden-bearer. That's why he went to Calvary. His cross was ALL our burdens, our cares, our anxieties and our guilt. He took them all upon himself so that we could be free. Let's not just cast these cares and burdens aside. Let's commit them to God. The burden will be lightened and we will be able to carry out our responsibilities with freedom and rejoicing. Jesus said, "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:30).
|
