Casting or Carrying?
I like to work out. Working out gives me a sense of clarity of mind. I love channeling my masculine aggression and working towards a goal to take care of my body. There’s something about sweating it out and battling that is therapeutic for my soul.
There’s a particular movement that is deceptively difficult. It’s called the Farmers Carry. Here’s how it works: You take two dumbells or kettlebells and you simply start walking while carrying one in each hand without dropping them for a certain distance/amount of time. Seems easy enough, right?
Wrong.
Sooner or later your fingers, forearms, shoulders, abs, and even legs start to bark. Your breathing becomes labored, and the weight that you thought you could carry quickly becomes unbearable.
We do this, don’t we? We carry things in life, like two heavy cast iron kettlebells, our soul carries things.
Strained relationships between father and son.
Changes in family dynamics.
Job pressures.
The economy.
Politics.
Community, or the lack thereof.
Our mental struggles.
The ever-present oppression of a phone that won’t stop trying to get our attention.
The news.
The list goes on and on. These are burdens; things that we carry like two dumbells. The weight starts to pile in our souls until things begin to hurt and we begin to look for relief. I wonder, what burdens are you carrying?
Recently, I realized I was carrying a lot. Too much. But here is the truth:
I can’t carry anything.
What is carrying our burdens if not a desperate attempt at control?
This reality became painfully true to me as I croaked out to my wife, “Yes, but who’s going to take care of me?”
Woah. You can almost hear a little child crying that out. Who’s going to take care of me?
Who’s going to take care of you?
Humility casts its burdens. Pride carries them.
Humility says, “I actually and truly cannot take care of myself or anyone around me.” Pride says, “I got this. I don’t need anyone.” Jesus through His disciple Peter penned some amazing verses about humility in 1 Peter chapter 5:6-7
“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.”
Humility precedes casting out care. Humility, not presumption, gives God our worries and cares. Humility casts. And why does it cast its cares? Because God cares for us. Notice it doesn’t say God cared about us—it’s present tense. He currently cares for us. And this knowledge is why we don’t have to carry burdens. We get to cast them and then be carried by God.
We see how to do this in Philippians 4 when it talks about not being anxious about anything. That’s right: anything. Paul states
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Here is a road map on how to cast our cares on the Lord. We take them and we bring them to God, letting Him know we are carrying a burden, and then with gratitude, we ask Him to take them. And you may have to do this several times a day, or even several times every few minutes, but as you do this you will notice the promise begin to settle on your heart and mind. What is the promise of following God’s instruction by casting our anxieties on the One who cares for us?
Peace of mind and heart.
