How Can we Cast Cares on the Lord?

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.” –Psalm 55:22 (ESV). “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.” –I Peter 5:6-7 (ESV).

We have so many admonitions in Scripture to cast our cares upon the Lord. The two verses cited above urge us to let the Lord bear our burdens. Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, ESV). We probably know these verses, can quote them, or at least know where to find them easily in our Bibles. But how easy is it for us to follow their teachings? How can we truly cast our cares upon the Lord?

Acrostics are a favorite way of mine to make something I should really learn and follow stick in my mind. Let us consider an acrostic for cast, and in particular in casting our burdens upon the Lord:

C – Commit your worries, situation, circumstances into the Lord’s hands. He knows about the situations already, and knows why they have come your way. He knows in advance how you are to be made strong through them. “He will sustaqin you.” “He cares for you.” Herein lie two good reasons for committing circumstances to Him. He has already promised to sustain us, and He definitely cares for us and has our best interests at heart. Commit the situation to God. He can handle it. And do this as humbly, unpretentiously as you possibly can, knowing that He (not yourself) has the answer. Following church Sunday morning, I had a brief moment of prayer with a young Christian lady and we asked the Lord that she commit her concerns fully to the Lord, trusting that He already knows the solution and is providing a way to work it out for good (Romans 8:28).

A – Ask God for His guidance, strength and understanding. Claim His promises that this is what should be done: “Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matthew 7:7).
S – Surrender the situation to God’s will. “Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34).
T – Trust Him. Don’t take your burdens to Him and then take them upon yourself again. Really believe Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” (ESV). Following church on Sunday night, I was able to talk to a fine young Christian man who hopes to transition soon from “a job” (honorable though it is) to a Christian career, and so far no openings have come. We agreed to continue to pray, to cast the burden upon the Lord, and in particular to trust Him. Commit, ask, surrender, trust; these are four positive actions toward victorious Christian living as we cast our cares upon the Lord.