Learning to Cast

Sometimes we read verses and agree with them and think they are THE BEST and (in my case) are worthy of a yellow highlighter – but applying them to our lives and changing is not as simple.

Here’s a few that arrest me every time, are powerful & weighty yet I often find hard to fulfil…

"Cast your burden on the Lord (releasing the weight of it) & He will sustain you; He will never allow the (consistently) righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall or fail)" Ps 55:22

Notice it starts with an action on our part – “Cast your burden”

The Hebrew meaning of cast translates into “to throw, hurl or fling”.  Imagine the force needed to fling a heavy discus into the air – it takes strength and effort to physically fling it far, far away from you.  That’s the type of casting needed to remove the burden you have been carrying so that it’s ultimately removed from your life.

For a bit of trivial information – the longest known discus throw was in Germany in 1986 at a whopping 74.80 metres!  It spun & flew for ages until it literally was out of sight.  Better to think about this record then our own attempts at throwing things sometimes – like discus’s. :)

Then there’s the promise - “He will sustain you”

Do we really believe He will – or do we strive and coerce and reason our way around the burden (that is supposed to be far away from sight) rather than just trusting that He will sustain us so that we will not be moved until He is ready for us to be moved?

I love the amount of times “consistently righteous” is mentioned in the Amplified bible – SO many!  Although we don’t always get it right our heart needs to be determined to stay the course; remaining faithful, no matter what, and seeking His righteousness.

It really is all about the issues of the heart. 

Now flip to the New Testament to 1 Peter for this powerful, weighty verse that says so much.

Casting the whole of your care (all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once & for all) on Him, for He cares for you affectionately & cares about you watchfully.  1 Peter 5:8

There it is again – casting it ALL away so that He is in charge of our cares (ALL of them) and not us.  I have literally had to get on my knees so many times and asked God to get back in the drivers seat of my life.   How easy it is to grab the steering wheel and try to navigate around hostile territory without even asking Him if we're driving in the right direction!  We are on our own trip destined for potholes, detours & breakdowns without Him at the wheel.

He cares so much about you - affectionately & watchfully.

He cares more about you than you do. 

I am ending this with the Message translation of Psalm 55:22-23   It’s just so good!

“Pile your troubles on Gods shoulders – he’ll carry your load, he’ll help you out.

He’ll never let good people topple into ruin.  

But You, God, will throw the others into a muddy bog, cut the lifespan of assassins & traitors in half.

And I trust in You.”

There’s that word again – trust.  We need to trust God that He means what He said.  His Word is as real today as it was when it was written.   It is His signature over the earth.

Trust Him, cast your cares on Him, and He will sustain you.

He promised.