After last night's big storm, I am pleased to be able to post this sermon. Last night we had a very bad storm in my part of the world. Over 100,000 people are still without power. There is extensive flooding and wind damage. Thanks be to God, I was relatively unscathed by the weather. I didn't get any flooding. A few tree branches were blown down.
I would ask that you all continue to pray for my nephew's health. So far, he is doing OK. Let's us pray that he has a speedy recovery.
In your prayer time this week, please continue to pray for the troubled areas of this world. Peace is very elusive in many parts of the Middle East. Let us pray for peace in Ukraine and in the troubled areas of north Africa as well.
Finally, let us pray for all of those who are facing hard times around the world. There is so much poverty and sickness around the world. So many people need so much help.
In last week's message, we studied what Peter had to teach us about humility. God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.
Today, we will focus on a verse that has been of extreme comfort to me over the last several years. I Peter 5:7 states, "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
As many of you who have read this blog for a while know, I have had a lot of problems come into my life over the past several years. About five years ago, I lost both of my parents to strokes within four months of each other. Shortly after this, I experienced a severe economic downturn that left me almost destitute. It is just within the last few months that I've been able to get some semblance of order restored to my life.
Through all of these difficulties, it is the Lord Jesus that has seen me through. Without Him to go to with my problems and anxieties, I would not be here today.
When we face the hard times and troubles that will certainly beset all of us in this life, we can give our cares and our problems to Jesus. Jesus is a great high priest who has experienced what we go through. Jesus knows what it feels like to experience pain, loss, sorrow and rejection. Because Jesus has faced these same type of circumstances, He can provide us with the comfort and the support that we need to make it through the dark and rough times that come in life.
I know that sometimes it is hard to trust in the Lord. When times are bleak, Jesus can seem like He doesn't care.
Let me speak to you from my own experience. When I faced my Mom being in the hospital for 37 days and when I faced my Dad being in the hospice, I felt the presence of Jesus deep down in my soul. I felt the Lord sustaining me. I have described it to others like this. Jesus was the rock in the depth of my being keeping me from falling too low and keeping me from being too depressed. I knew that He was there for me. I could go to Him in prayer and meditation, and I could give Him all my cares and troubles.
The reason that we can and we should give all of our cares to Jesus is because He is the only one who has the power to do anything about the problems we face in life. Jesus has all the power to make a difference for us in time and in eternity.
If you are going through a health problem, cast this anxiety on the Lord. He has the power to heal and to restore in this life or in the world to come. He will give you the strength that will sustain you through your time of illness.
If the pressure and stress of life is becoming overwhelming, give this problem to Jesus. He will make a way where there seems to be no way. He will guide you in the path where He wants you to go if you will yield your life to His will.
One thing that I do when I am facing problems that I cannot cope with in my own strength is to symbolically cast the problem on the Lord. I image that I am holding the problem or turmoil in my hands. I lift my eyes to the heavens, and I tell Jesus that I am casting this problem to Him. I then release the problems I am holding in my hands casting them up to the throne room of Heaven. This makes the problem Jesus' problem not just mine.
Whatever situation you are facing in life, Jesus cares about your struggles and He wants to you to rely on Him for help in every situation. He will make you aware of His presence, and He will help you in a myriad of different ways to overcome the difficulties of this present age.
I had planned to finish our series on I Peter this week. However, it is going to take me one more week to finish up. On Monday, I will post the verses. On Wednesday, I will have a book review of a current book. On Friday, I will post the sermon. May God bless you. Amen.
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