CAST YOUR BURDENS UPON THE LORD

Cast Your Burdens Upon The Lord
As a youth, some of my fondest memories are the times I spent fishing with my friends. We loved to fish so much we would sleep out in the backyard then just as dusk settled in, we would start the one mile walk to the river, then fish until dawn.
Fishing at the local lake was another favorite spot. Early morning spent at the lake, sitting back with our poles resting against branches shaped in Y's and pounded into the ground, were times of relaxation and many great conversations. I believe we not only solved all of our problems, but most of the world's problems at those times. Then all would stop as one of our poles would show the tug of a wary fish and all concentration was on hooking the biggest fish in the lake, or so we always hoped.
There was one friend at school who also fished, but always complained how he rarely caught anything. We would ask him to join us but he never did. After many years of complaining he finally gave in and went fishing with me. After we had been fishing for a few hours with John, having no luck, he turned toward me and asked me what he was doing wrong. I smiled at John and said, "The first thing you need to do is stop reeling the bait back in as soon as it hits the water. Once you cast out your bait, you must have faith that you placed it in the right spot, and then let it there. I have also noticed when you did get a tug on your line you either weren't paying attention or didn't trust in what you were feeling, so you never tried to set the hook. When you feel the fish tug on your pole, you must then take the next step John, and have faith that you will pull back on the rod at the right time to set the hook and then do it." Well needless to say fishing became much more fruitful for John. He was soon catching fish regularly. Yes there were days that nothing was caught but they were few and far in between now.
I tell this story because it seems to relate so much to our prayer life. There are many verses, promises from God's Word that tell us to cast our cares upon the Lord. These are but a few. Psalm 55:22a " Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you." 1 Peter 5:7" Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Phil 4:7 " And the peace of God that transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:19 " And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" We are told here and so often in Scripture to cast our burdens, our fears and our needs upon God, but like my friend John, so many of us, myself included, no sooner do we cast our prayers up to God that we start to reel them right back in again. We then again try to take them back on in our own strength and worse still we try to manipulate people or circumstances to fulfill our needs. Of course we usually find out all this does is give us temporary satisfaction and leaves us weary with the effort. Our burdens end up right were they started, back on our shoulders and still unfulfilled. Please, when you pray, cast your burdens, your worries, your needs up to God and then let them lie there. By doing this you are showing that your faith is in Him. Be assured also that you have put you needs right where they belong, with our Precious Heavenly Father. "He Who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all.....how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things." Romans 8:32.......... That's God's Word, and there is no greater truth than this, He did send His son to die on the Cross for you, not only because He loves you so much that he wanted you to have the way to receive everlasting life by Faith, But He then tells us "to approach the throne of grace with confidence , so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Heb. 4:16 He is telling us even while we are still here on earth though we may suffer His Son's death gives us the right as His children to come right to His throne in Prayer! Wow!..... God is telling me? Prayer!...... Leave it With Him!........Faith in Him!....... Answered Prayers
So many times in Scripture Jesus says " Your faith has healed you." Yes it was the words"YOUR FAITH" that were used when He healed those that only dreamed before of walking, seeing, being cured of leprosy, a mothers son and Mary and Margaret's brother Lazarus were brought back to life and a woman was healed from bleeding to death just by touching Him "In Faith."
Second, when God does start us along the path to answer our prayer, quietly or like a gentle tug on our heart, whether through His Word, words of another or something He shows us, we stand there either oblivious to it, or afraid to take that important first step in faith, so that we may receive the answer to our prayer that He has already provided for us.
Allow your heart to be sensitive to His Word as you read it, sensitive to what is going on in your life that He may be showing you. When your heart feels that gentle tug please take that first step in faith. That will be when you are no longer alone, but walking hand in hand with Jesus. As you walk the path that He has chosen, have faith that in His time, your prayer will be answered. You may stumble at times, but there is no one stronger nor more loving to be there to pick you up than Jesus. Yes, things may seem darker at times like you are going nowhere, but again there is a light that shines through any darkness and that light again is Jesus! What is often the neatest blessing, is when you realize that the answer to your prayer isn't what you asked for at all, but what God in His wisdom gave you instead, exactly what you needed. All He's asking for is faith. He knows your prayer before you ask it. He knows what you need, even when you ask for the wrong thing, and that is what makes Him God, and us so blessed to be His children!