He Careth For You
Ernest B. Sprunt, St. Catharines, Ontario, is the Editor of Youth Talk. We are pleased that he also supplies devotional material for our readers. This article would divert our attention from the mundane and would fix it upon the God of all comfort.
Cares! In these troublesome days of stress and strain, of tensions and trials, who doesn’t know something of care and anxiety? Most Christians at one time or other pass through the waters of affliction and adversity.
Who knows about cares? Our Heavenly Father knows! He is acquainted with every experience through which His children pass. The Holy Spirit speaks of our cares —all of them — in 1 Peter 5:7. “Casting all your care upon Him.”
Many kinds of cares afflict God’s people. In Luke 21:34 we read of the Cares of This Life. As suggested in Matthew 6:24-28, these may include thoughts of what we should eat and drink, or what we should wear. There are employment problems as well. Most of all, there are worries about tomorrow as we fret over situations which may never develop.
My father had a postcard one time depicting a lean and hungry cow in a field with several stacks of hay.
The caption read:
“The worry cow
Might have lived till now,
If she hadn’t lost her breath;
But she thought her hay
Would not last all day,
So she worried herself to death!”
How frequently we are like that foolish beast!
In 1 Corinthians 7:33 reference is made to the Cares of Married Life. These are quite pressing in many households. Husband and wife are not compatible. They disagree or quarrel over many issues; they may even be at the point of breaking up their marriage. Other homes face the problems of raising children in these days when our teen-agers are confronted with varied temptations and evil influence. Indeed, there are cares in the home!
Paul also speaks in 1 Corinthians 7:34 of the Care of Spiritual Life. There is satanic opposition to those would live godly in Christ Jesus. John reminds in his first epistle that even now there are many antichrists. Pressure is against those who desire to live for God.
Then, too, there are the Cares of Church Life. Paul refers to his care for all the churches. 2 Corinthians 1:28. Those who seek to shepherd the flock of God know what problems arise today. Some of the saints are attacked by false doctrine, others by worldly enticements, and still more by the deceitfulness of riches.
There are forces of evil that would divide the Christians into factions and others that would turn them away from obeying the truths of God’s Word.
The life of the believer is filled with trials and anxieties but the answer is found in 1st Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.” He cares though others may not. He cares even when we think that He has forgotten all about us. Several passages of Scripture reveal this wonderful fact.
In the Storm
In Mark 4 the disciples were filled with fear because of the storm which threatened to sink them to the depths of the sea. Urgently they cried, “Master, carest Thou not that we perish?” (vs. 38). Oh but He does care! He will arise and rebuke the wind and the sea so that there will be for us, as for the disciples, a great calm.
In Our Service
Luke chapter 10 tells of Martha who was engaged in service for the Lord. Like so many of us, she felt that she had too much to do while others were giving so little help. Doubting and complaining, she asked, “Dost Thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?”
The Lord most surely cares! He knows every little labor of love that is done for His sake and He will reward accordingly. One day He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”
For the Sheep
John 10:13 points out an hireling who cared not for the sheep because his concern was for financial gain and personal welfare. Do you feel that you are a neglected member of God’s flock, that the overseers or shepherds have no concern for you? Never fret! The Chief Shepherd Himself cares for you. His love is so great that He laid down His life for you.
For the Needy
Again in John 12:6, it is said of Judas that he cared not for the poor. How heartless! But the Lord feels for you in your anxieties about your financial problems and temporal needs. He has promised to supply all your need. He is faithful!
For Sundry Things
The words appears again in Acts 18:17, of Gallio who cared for none of these things. Gather up all the sundry problems and perplexities which may distress you and know assuredly that Jesus cares for all of these, from the greatest to the least.
For His Servants
1 Corinthians 9:9 asks, “Doth God care for oxen?” Does He have concern for those who put their necks into His yoke and their shoulders to the work? He highly regards those who have gone forth for His Name’s sake. He will supply their need and reward them with eternal treasure.
Yes dear child of God, whatever your circumstances may be, whatever the burden which weighs heavy upon you, be confident in the One who abides faithful. Bring your problems to Him. Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.”