Scripture: I Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (v.7) And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Every year Angela and I spend a little time re-landscaping the front of our home. This consist of trimming back the growth of shrubs and putting down fresh mulch. The other day I was getting some fuel at Kroger and noticed they had the large bags of mulch, four for ten dollars. I thought, “I’m here now, there it is, I have a truck, why not?” So I gathered up the bags of mulch and took them home. When I began unloading these large heavy bags of mulch, I carried the first one all the way to the back of the shed. There it was, the wheel barrow. It made it so much easier to move those heavy bags of mulch to the back of the shed. I would have been crazy not to use the wheel barrow.

I wonder if life can be like that for us as followers of Christ. We face a huge, heavy burden and we do the craziest thing; we try to pick up that burden and carry it ourselves. I don’t know about you, but typically it causes me to stumble somewhere along the way. It causes me to get frustrated and become a hard person to be around. It doesn’t make sense for us as GOD’s children to go through life weighed down with burdens and anxieties, especially when GOD has instructed us to “cast our cares upon Him.” GOD invites us to give him our struggles and anxious moments in life. Our pride can get in the way. When that happens we fail to experience the peace that passes all understanding. We miss the opportunity for GOD to be glorified. Today, cast all of your cares on Him!

Prayer: Dear GOD, Lord of all Creation, please help me to renounce my pride that keeps me from relying on you. I pray I will come to you with all of my burdens and cares. I pray to experience the calming peace that passes all understanding. Let me experience you calming, sovereign presence in my life. Though we as humans may be stumped by sickness and disease, you are still in full control. Let us enjoy that peace that comes from knowing that nothing we face is too big of an obstacle when you are with us. We pray this prayer in the name of the One who said, “Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest,” Amen.