Shedding Self-Sufficiency
[image error]I was talking with my mother-in-law the other day. She shared a story about how she obediently – instinctively – followed 1 Peter 5:7 and cast all her cares on the Lord. It was a small concern, an everyday annoyance. One of those speed bumps in life, things you are aware of and simply slow down and accommodate for.
I said instinctively, because that is how she is. She casts ALL her cares, from not being able to get a stove to work to a report from the doctor. It all belongs in God’s hands – not hers. It isn’t just something she works hard at doing, it has become who she is.
As we were talking, we discussed how the small cares and the large cares are all important to God. But then it hit me – by casting our cares on Him, we show how important He is to us. It also hit me that doing so sets up a pattern of living that helps us shed our self-sufficiency, operate in wisdom and discernment, and get to know Him more.
[image error]Our natural instinct is self-sufficiency. “We’ve got this” is our mantra – until we don’t. Until life throws us a curve ball and we find ourselves on our knees seeking God. The little things we take on begin to multiply. The “I’ve got this” increases our self-sufficiency instinct. The problem is we are not sufficient. We are needy and messed up people – the Bible is very clear about that. We have an amazing God and the Bible is very clear where we should seek help. Psalm 68:19 says He – not us – is the bearer of burdens. By casting our cares onto the Lord – even in the little things – we learn to shed this self-sufficiency.
Casting ALL our cares on Him means we do not react to life. We process our thoughts, emotions, and justifications through the Holy Spirit. The outcome – wisdom and discernment. Purposeful acts that glorify and honor God.
[image error]By casting ALL our cares on Him, we get to know God more. The more we cast our cares, the more He acts. This isn’t a declaration that your speed bumps will be smoothed out. This is just saying that He acts. He moves in our lives, and the more we tune into that, the more we get to know Him. We see His love, His faithfulness, His mercy and grace. We fall more in love with Him and seek to draw closer to Him. We trust Him – which means we lay even more down. We we see how faithfully He moves in all the the little speed bumps that crop up in our life. And when the mountains appear on our horizon – the ones that shake us to the core – we know exactly who to turn to.
