“Casting all of your care upon Him,
for He cares for you.”—1 Peter 5:7
The Gospel according to Mark, in Chapter 14: 1-10, gives a
very detailed account of an incident that happened during the final days before
Jesus’ death. “Now the Passover and the Festival of
Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the
teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. “But
not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.” While
he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a
woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard.
She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly
to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a
year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She
has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you,
and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She
poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is
preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory
of her.” Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve,
went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.”
In these scriptures, we see Jesus sitting
down relaxing eating a meal with
Simon, a leper, who had been healed by Jesus.
While Jesus is relaxing and
enjoying a meal with friends and His disciples, a whole lot of confusion is happening.
People
are plotting, scheming, and stressing
over how they were going to kill Him. Mary,
the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who had been raised from the dead entered the
room broke the seal on a very expensive bottle of oil and began to pour the oil
on His head. And, to add to the stress of what was happening, the
disciples and others began arguing and
judging her offering; saying it was
too much and it was a waste. They then
proceeded to speak cruelly to her saying that the oil should have been sold so
that the money could be given to the poor.
Jesus calmly defends Martha’s actions and is not drawn into their stressful argument, nor is He anxious about Judas selling Him out to
the chief priests.
Feelings of stress and anxiousness are tormenting emotions
that the enemy would like to keep us embroiled in; however, we do not have to
be anxious—fretful, worried or fearful we can “cast”—throw our “cares” onto the
Lord. We do not have to carry the burden. Jesus is waiting to carry our burden(s)—those
things that we think about all the time and weigh us down, “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30).
Isn’t it interesting that Satan prowling like a roaring lion
is mentioned in a passage dealing with anxious thoughts? Worry can feel like an attack—we get torn up
on the inside by fears, frustration, and helplessness. Anxiety
is a source of severe mental anguish, and the Devil wields it very well. Peter described how to deal with anxiety and stress (1 Peter 5:6-9). First,
we humble ourselves before God. What
causes worry / stress is a sense of
helplessness in a given situation, so the best response is yielding yourself to
God—submitting to Him with the confidence that He has the power to control your
life. Another thing that builds trust is
the realization that God is always engineering circumstances for your good and
His glory, “And we know that God causes
all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are
called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
When we tell God our troubles, our worries we can rest confidently that He is more than
adequate to handle every one of them.
Prayer—Father today I
realize that I do not have to carry the burden of ___________________. I give it all to You and from this day
forward I will not worry or try to find a solution to the problem, but I will wait
for You to work all things together for my good, in Jesus Name. Amen.
