"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:6-7
Yesterday was an encouragement to think about humility.
Today is an encouragement to think about rest.
How restful would it be if you had nothing to carry? Nothing mentally. Nothing emotionally. Nothing spiritually. (We'll stop there, though you could realistically, in Christ, consider how God wants to carry our other loads also, like physical and financial. But that's a different message.)
So, again, how restful would it be if you had nothing to carry?
Martin Luther, who lived from 1483-1546, had a suggestion for lightening up your daily load. Luther said that the longer his "To Do" list was for a day, the longer he prayed at the start of a day. At first thought, it seems that he was making his day harder by cutting into his work time with prayer that got nothing done on his "To Do" list.
But, in essence, this is how he understood today's Bible verse. Make a "To Do" list at the start of the day or the night before. Then take your "To Do" list, and pray over it, letting God "exalt you, [by] casting all your anxieties on him."
What's first on your list? Cast it, hurl it onto the Lord. There now, it's off your list and on God's list. Your load is already lighter.
What's second on your list? Cast it, hurl it onto the Lord. There now, another thing is off your list and on God's list. Your load is even lighter.
Do this with each thing on your list, "casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)
Do you see that, like Martin Luther said, the longer your "To Do" list is for a day, the longer you'll be praying at the start of a day? But it's not a waste of time; to the contrary, it actually makes you more efficient.
The effect is this. As you then start your day, you can look at each person or meeting or task and say, "She's in God's hands. I already gave her to God in prayer. So, I'm just being God's helper. God's already got her taken care of."
You have nothing to carry! Nothing mentally. Nothing emotionally. Nothing spiritually.
Now that's rest!
So, let's start today...with prayer!
Praise God!
(For an archive of "Day of Praise", please visit my daughter Calley's website at http://dayofpraisepc.blogspot.com/?m=1)
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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