Where to Go

5/11/2016

Psalm 55.22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. – of David

A recurring theme in the Scripture is God’s care for His own. Another recurring theme in the Old Testament (for sure) is the difficulties between parents, and their children. The enjoinder of the Bible is this: cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you… St. Peter said, “Cast all your anxiety (your cares, woes, concerns) upon the Lord, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5.7)

In 2 Samuel 19 & 20, David had just come through one of the most harrowing seasons of his life: the treachery of son, Absalom. He nearly lost the kingdom because of his own foolishness and his inability to rein in his children. And, David had become so busy being the king that he lost sight of his role as a dad and husband. King David was a godly man but he wasn’t flawlessly perfect – he, like all of us, made some huge mistakes. But in spite of all he struggled with, David knew where to go when the going got rough: he fled to the presence of God.

If you’re like Cathy and me, the kid years are wonderful, and daunting. Adult children make mistakes and often those mistakes have repercussions on the children they are raising. And as parents of those adult children, often, we older parents, have little, or no, control over the situations – so we learn to pray. We learn to cast our cares upon God and hope for the best.

The thing that all of us – parents, children, grandchildren – must learn is, if God is God, then He is infinitely involved in every aspect of all of our lives; no stone is left unturned with the Lord. His desire is that we trust Him with our cares and trust Him with the outcome of those cares.

Trust is more important to God than we think. The truest test of who we really are is where we go (mentally, spiritually, and emotionally) when the seasons of our lives take a turn for the worse (and children, and their bungles and missteps are a big source of that) when it hits the fan. David said: cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. Peter said, cast all of your anxiety of Him for He cares for you.

Today, I need the refreshment of these words. Today, I needed to be reminded of where to Go when it all seems to be coming apart (and I have no control of any of it). Today, Jesus reminds me of where the real transactions in life happen: bringing my burdens and cares into His presence, and leaving them there. Somebody said recently: I wasn’t made to carry them anyway. Today, I’m casting them all on Him. I may have to again tomorrow; but at least today, I have a place to go and the knowledge of Someone who cares about it all.

Father God, thank You that I have a place to lay my burdens down and an assurance that You, alone, are in control of all of this. I give you my burdens and I trust You to do something with them. I don’t know what, but I do know I don’t have to deal with them. I trust You and I will learn to come more quickly knowing that You are in control and I can trust Your dealings with all of it. Amen