Learning to Cast

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you;

he will never let the righteous fall.

Psalm 55:22 (NIV)

            When our boys were young, we would take them fishing at the lake. Andrew and Christopher quickly learned to cast the baited end of the line into the water, then slowly reel it back in. Benjamin, on the other hand, would fling the line into the lake, then leave it dangling in the clear blue water. It required quite a bit of time and patience to convince him that reeling it back in would entice the fish to bite.

            So often I find myself casting my cares on the LORD only to reel them back in. Despite the worries and frustrations my cares elicit, I still struggle with absolute surrender. Rather than casting my cares on Him and handing them over to His control, I reclaim them one by one, thinking I can influence the circumstances to reach the desired outcome. Because my thinking is faulty. For some reason, I assume I need to remind Him about my concerns over and over again, instead of entrusting them to Him once and for all. In doing so, I hamper my heart and mind from fully enjoying God’s abundant peace.

            Thankfully, God is a gracious Savior. Though time and again I fail to fully trust Him, He still welcomes me into His presence, willing to sustain me through each trial, grasping my frail hand in His nail-scarred hand to keep me from falling. Because He loves me.

            Ironically, it was Benjamin who caught the first fish that day. Maybe he can teach me a thing or two about casting; whether it’s bait or burdens.