“…cast all your anxieties upon Him, because He cares for you…” (I Peter 5:7).
As part of my morning devotions, I spend time reading from a Puritan book of prayers titled The Valley of Vision. In the prayer that I studied this morning, the following line caught my attention, “O Lord, help me to live circumspectly, with skill to convert every care into prayer.” My mind then turned to the words of the Apostle Peter that are written above and then to the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians, “…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
We all know what undo worry and care can do to us, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. It is very apparent that we were not fashioned to carry the burden of worry and anxiety and we do so at great cost. When these things do try and fill our hearts and minds, we are called to bring them to Jesus, who says, “I tell you, do not be anxious about your life…but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:25 & 33).
Remember the line from the Puritan prayer, “Lord, help me to live circumspectly, with skill to convert every care into prayer.” This does not happen on its own, we must become disciplined so that when the cares of life do start to press us down, we turn and take them to Him, the one who cares for us. The fact of the matter is, we don’t have to carry these burdens, we have a Burden-bearer in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, who says, ”Bring them to Me.” Again, Jesus calls us to Himself in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
In Colossians 3:15, the Apostle Paul wrote, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” The great unwritten truth of this verse is that we can choose to not to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. Christ has made every provision to fill our hearts with peace, if we do not possess and enjoy that peace it is because we have refused to “convert every care into prayer.” So the choice is yours, you can hang on to every care, worry, or anxiety, or you can bring them to the one who promises the “peace of God which surpasses all understanding, the peace that will guard your hearts and minds…” (Philippians 4:7).
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