| Christian Life and Doctrine | January 1970 |
God’s Loving Care
“Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” —I Peter 5:7
TO CAST all our care upon the Lord means that we will not try to shoulder any of it ourselves. This does not imply, however, that we will be careless or indifferent to our surroundings and experiences. It does mean that we will accept what the divine will permits as a cup which the Father pours, and in full assurance of faith realize that he knows what is best for us; hence, that we will neither murmur, nor complain, nor worry. The secret of being able to cast all our care upon the Lord is to be fully resigned to his will. We must be fully resolved and fully determined not to raise any opposition in our hearts and minds to the full accomplishment of that which the Father desires shall be wrought in our lives.
In the verse preceding our text the apostle says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” It is in this process of being humbled that we need to cast all our care upon the Lord. To be truly humble in the trials which come upon us it is necessary to recognize that it is God’s hand that bears down upon us. With this thought in mind we should ignore the secondary causes of our trials, and accept them as from him. This will help us in two ways. It will help us to bear more patiently the experiences through which divine wisdom may see best for us to pass; and it will help us not to become embittered against those through whom they may come. If, in seeking to get the true perspective of any experience, we always bring God into the picture it will be a great blessing to us.
Humility is a rare trait of character in human relationships, and it is even more rare in the relationship of men toward God. One of the hardest lessons the consecrated Christian has to learn is to be humble under the mighty hand of God, as Peter admonishes. We do not intentionally rebel against God’s will, but we often do rebel against the agencies through which the divine will for us is carried out.
God’s hand, under which we must humble ourselves, may be any one or more of the strange and difficult surroundings in which we find ourselves. It may be some member of our family who is a daily trial to us; or perhaps a neighbor or friend who suddenly acts strangely toward us. It may be even a brother or sister in the Lord, who because of fleshly weaknesses proves to be a great trial. But rich is the blessing if we can have faith to believe that these things are but the hand of God under which we must humble ourselves; and then, in humility, cast all our care upon him.
In Romans 12:12 we are admonished to be “patient in tribulation.” Here the Greek word translated “patient” means to “bear under,” or submit to tribulation. The thought is that the Lord permits our trials to come as a test to our willingness to humble ourselves so that his will may be wholly worked out in us. But in order to bear the trials which his love sees best for us, we need to look to him for strength in every time of need—to cast all our care upon him in full confidence that he will not permit us to be tested above that which we are able to bear.
Faith and humility are both required in order to put our trust fully in the Lord. We need faith to believe firmly that God’s wisdom and love will not permit a single trial that is not destined for our highest spiritual welfare; and humility to submerge our will fully into his in order that there be no cross-grained disposition of ours that might hinder our learning the lessons divine wisdom sees necessary for us to know.
God has promised to help us in every time of need, but to receive that help we must reach out and take hold of the means of grace which he has provided. These are found in his Word as well as in our association with the brethren who are feeding upon his Word. In the inspired Word of God is where we can meet God and, as it were, have him talk to us. It is in his Word that he tells us of his love, and assures us that not a hair of our heads can be harmed without his knowledge. God does not promise that no harm will come to our flesh—indeed, we have covenanted to die following in the footsteps of Jesus—but he does assure us that as the sacrifice of the flesh is carried out he will supervise our experiences and thus direct the final issue to the end that all things will work together for our good as new creatures in Christ Jesus.
The consoling balm of our Heavenly Father’s precious promises may come to us through one or more of his consecrated people, hence it is necessary to maintain contact with them. The Heavenly Father’s succor may be waiting for us at the prayer meeting, or in a Bible study class; or it may reach us in our own private study of his Word.
In any event, let us cast our burdens upon the Lord, and in faith and confidence utilize all the means of grace which he has provided, especially prayer, to keep us from falling in the hour of trial. And let us do this in full assurance that he knows and cares, and that he gives what will ultimately work out for the very best to those who leave the choice with him.