CAST YOUR CARES!
Good morning! Our coffee time today begins this morning by reflecting on a devotional which spoke to me mightily.
The key biblical person of the reflection is King David. However, as we gather each morning WE come desiring to be the main person for the Holy Spirit to speak.
BACKGROUND: Late in life, King David had more than a problem. He had a painful, ugly, horrible, awful, massive, miserable mess! Unresolved family conflicts were boiling over and threatened to topple his rule. David’s own son, Absalom, conspired against his leadership. Rumors, false reports, and slander were running rampant through Jerusalem. As a father, David couldn’t fight his own son, but as the king, he couldn’t merely sit still.
What COULD he do?
David used one of his best leadership tools and displayed a great secret of his leadership—he turned the problem into a prayer which became what we know as Psalm 55!
“Here are some quick highlights from Psalm 55 that reflect David’s response to his concerns:
—Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught. (vv. 1, 2)
—Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him.
—But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God. (vv. 11–14)
BUT I CALL TO GOD…and the LORD saves me. Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice!”.
QUESTION: What is your first emotional response to trouble? —Are you quick to lash out in anger?
—Are you quick to yell and shout in frustration?
—Lastly, do you at times, when the deep, personal troubles occur, lash out to God or to others, blaming them for everything bad you encounter right then?
CONFESSION: When I was told about the alarming, brain cancer tumors, how many and how big they were….yes…Pastor Jerry was angry. I lashed out to God—Father are you kidding me! How long Father have YOU known about this? A rather comical and rhetorical question as I write it out, right?
I am not happy to share this with you, but I am being authentically honest, as Jesus has asked of me, especially in these pastoral reflections.
Each of us as God’s children will respond differently to crisis! However, even as a believer, when we get hit by a wave crushing event, we may respond quickly with emotions and thoughts of unfaithfulness!
BUT, the key question to ask you is did you linger here long with the resentment, anger, and blame the world mentality for all problems?
A crushing wave hit me hard! It spun this coastal boy every which way under the water! At first, I did wonder if I was going to make it back up to the surface?
And then HE shows up!!! Yes Jesus, whom I love so much, reached down, grasped me completely, and yanked me out of the depth of my misery, raising me back onto the water’s surface, back from the darkness of the ocean depths, and right back into the LIGHT of HIS presence, where I had walked before!
My dear brothers and sisters, please know with HIM, it is never about how you first react, no not all! However, it is about how we will CHOOSE to work out our emotions and thoughts after a crisis!
Will we pause, ponder, reflect, like King David — AND CALL OUT TO GOD?
“As for me, I will call upon God, And the Lord shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me. God will hear, and afflict them, Even He who abides from of old. Selah Because they do not change, Therefore they do not fear God.”
Psalms 55:16-19 NKJV
KNOW THIS IS WHAT SAVED MY SOUL during the realization of my battle with brain cancer. I am dearly loved by the King of Kings! HE SHOWED UP WITH MERCY! HE MOVED QUICKLY TO RESPOND. HE reaffirmed to me, Jerry I am HERE, I am with you, I will never leave you or forsake you!
THANK YOU JESUS!!
“Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall. (v. 22) “
