Unload and Unpack!
Do you ever feel stressed out? I know that I talk a lot about how people feel, but, these feelings are reality and are common to all people. We have to deal with a whole range of feelings each and every day so I think it is important to address what the Word has to say.
1 Peter 5:6-8 (Amplified Bible)
6Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you,
7Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
8Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.
We are told in verse 7 to cast the whole of our care on Him. This takes a willful choice on our part. Sometimes it is necessary to just STOP and CAST. We are not pack mules and God never intended us to carry burdens and weights. It would be one thing if our carrying cares would accomplish anything – but carrying cares has never resolved anything and never will! Casting care can only be done by humbling ourself and trusting in a saviour that cares for us – literally. Worrying is nothing more than fear, plain and simple. We have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind, the scripture says. When you find yourself loaded down, worrying, anxious and stressed out, you will find that there is an absence of peace. It is the desire of the Lord that you live your life free from anxious fear.
Satan will keep loading us up till we are running over with more than we can tolerate. Stress weakens your whole being. Stress comes in many different forms and in many different ways. Stress can cause us to become locked into the mindset that there is no way out! Satan wants us to believe in our heart and confess with our mouth, calling forth things as we See them.
When sin entered this world, so did stress, anxiety, worry, fear and such like. However; when Jesus came upon the scene, here is what He proclaimed and here is what He did and is still doing today:
Luke 4:17-19 (King James Version)
17And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Every promise that the Word of God has for you has to be Received. You can look around yourself and come to the conclusion that it is not Automatic! Receiving of all the wonderful things that have been given to us according to scripture is “by faith”. Our Hearing of the preaching of the gospel is the means by which Faith comes. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Humbling ourself to hear the Word is the first step of living a stress – free life. We must esteem the Word as our most vital and necessary food. We must hunger and thirst after Him. It is only in Him that we can find a place to unpack our heavy loads, cast off burdens and truly rest. Let today and everyday be a day that you cast ALL your cares on Him and walk free of stress!
