Day 28 Casting Your Cares: God’s Word Banishes Fear at Calvary
Questions 1 and 2
Hello and welcome back to our studies together of God’s word.
When I think back to the time when anxiety was the focus of my life, the words, “It is enough” (1 Kings 19:4) of the renowned prophet Elijah in the Old Testament often described the state of my heart. I could have imagined myself sitting under a broom tree beside a dejected Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-8) or with the despairing widow gathering dry sticks to cook her very last meal for Elijah, herself and her son (1 Kings 17:10-24), overwhelmed by one life event after another.
For myself, life seemed like a conveyor belt of worrying situations approaching in a constant stream. The only red stop button I could press was one of my own making: to micromanage anxious situations, to run and hide away from the problem, to blame others or God for the heavy load, or to give up and say with resignation: “It is enough. It is too much. No more!”
Question 1: Can you relate to the “It is enough” (1 Kings 19:4) statement of Elijah in times of anxiety? If so, in what way?
We have both no doubt tried many ways of attempting to shake off our burdens of anxiety. The more I tried to manage my fears with my own methods, the more my eyes seem to return to and remain glued to the same trouble. It was like trying to rub some honey from one’s fingers but instead, it spreads everywhere and holds our attention and adds to our frustration.
God gives us a different way to manage our worries. It is not throwing our hands up in despair, nor submitting blindly to others, nor exalting ourselves in our works. It is humbling ourselves under God’s caring hand, throwing all our worries, the whole of our cares and not just in part, onto Jesus:
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 NASB
The word for ‘cast’ in this verse (‘epirrhipto’ meaning to throw or place upon) only occurs on one other occasion in the book of Luke chapter 19 when Jesus was given a small donkey to ride into Jerusalem:
“AndtheybroughthimtoJesus: andtheycasttheirgarmentsuponthecolt, and theysetJesusthereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.” Luke 19:35-36 NKV
This is a good way of understanding the process of casting our cares. People took their clothes from their own backs and threw them from a distance onto the colt which Jesus would use, as well as in front of Him to ride over. Jesus touched each flung garment with His presence, even as we trust the risen and living Jesus to hold onto the burdens we cast or throw on Him.
Only a short time later in Jerusalem, Jesus in perfect humility would hang on the cross covered in our sins and burdens, trusting the mighty hand of God who exalted Him in resurrection after His death. We now wear rebirthed garments of righteousness intricately interwoven with His freedom, forgiveness, and peace. At the cross, Jesus has undone “our heavy burdens” and has “let the oppressed go free” (Isaiah 58:6). When we believe and put faith in this good news, we receive the power of the Holy Spirit to throw our daily worries far from us with His spiritual strength into Jesus’ outstretched hands.
Seeing the gospel in scripture
Elijah was the prophet at the time of a divided Israel and suffered along with his people through a severe drought and famine. King Ahab of the Northern nation of Israel married Jezebel, a devoted worshipper of the idol Baal. Elijah was painted as the “troubler of Israel” (I Kings 18:17) by King Ahab. This prophet thus faced many fearful circumstances, desperately needing to throw His cares onto God and be lifted up in hope.
Do not fear: The eternal hope of gospel provision
“So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 1 Kings 17:10-12
Elijah received miraculous sustenance by the Lord in the time of famine (1 Kings 17:5-7). He was told by God to journey to meet a widow who would feed him. The woman was not a believer and described to Elijah that she and her son were in fearful and dire straits and had only one uncooked meal left, after which she expected they would die of starvation.
Her jar of flour, which had previously been full, had almost been emptied and her jug of oil was drained to the last few drops. Yet Elijah still asked in faith for a cup and a piece of bread from her hand.
“And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.” 1 Kings 17:13-16
Supernaturally, the widow’s jars were filled with flour and water until the rains came again to grow more crops in the land. Elijah, the widow, and her son were provided for abundantly by the hand of God, just as the Israelites had earlier received manna and birds from heaven in the desert, depending and resting on God for their daily bread (Exodus 16:4; Matthew 6:11).
This same hand would 800 years later send Jesus to open the way for our eternal provision by emptying Himself in the form of a servant, a holy vessel poured out and drained to the last drop through suffering. He gave up His divine rights and took the position of a humble slave to become obedient to death (Philippians 2:7).
Do you recall Jesus’ words at the Last Supper before He went to Gethsemane and then to the cross (Matthew 26:26-28)? He also offers you a cup and a piece of bread from His hand to remember His one-time work of death and resurrection and a rich inheritance of gifts, pressed down and flowing over:
Question 2: Please fill in the blanks: “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “, ; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “ of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:26-28
Looking up to the cross, Jesus invites us to “take, eat” of what we see there, the “bread of God” sent from heaven, to nourish our souls with the truth that He died in our place for the removal and forgiveness of our sin, and set us free with a clear conscience: “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:33)
Looking up to the cross, Jesus calls us to “drink” in the New Covenant truth that there are no longer any dread-filled barriers of wrath or even a speck of distrust in our relationship with His Father: “One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head." (Micah 2:13)
Looking up to the cross, Jesus appeals to us to see His love “poured” out and the heavens opened up for us to receive never-ending grace for provision. Jesus has planted the good seeds of righteousness in our new hearts, and a crop of love is harvested that overcomes fear: “And this hope will not lead to disappointment.For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” (Romans 5:5 NLT)
Do not fear: The eternal hope of gospel resurrection
“After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” 1 Kings 17:17-18
We can surely understand the heartache of this destitute and lonely widow, who had lost her husband, and now loses her only son to sickness. The previous days of provision and enjoying the company of Elijah were quickly forgotten in grief. However, she recognized now that Elijah was a man of God and her heart was changing as she admitted to long-standing sin in her life, blaming God through Elijah for what she saw as her due punishment. Such was the depth of the remembrance of her sin and the dead weight of guilt she carried without remedy.
“And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20 And he cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again.” 22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.” 1 Kings 17:19-24
Oh, what a story of deliverance of the widow’s son being brought to life, Elijah’s supplication to the Lord on the boy’s behalf, and the torrent of belief that flowed into this woman’s grateful heart!
But do you detect your own deliverance in this story? We were dead in our sin: “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.” (Ephesians 2:1 NLT). Jesus, the Good Samaritan, saw us and took pity on us (Luke 10:33) and picked us up in His arms and carried us to the cross where freedom and hope reigns!
A cruel bed of two wooden beams and nails awaited Jesus as He kneeled and laid Himself down, grasping our old spiritual selves tightly. He stretched His arms out to receive three nails through our sin and His flesh. Jesus cried out to His Lord: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34) as He suffered His Father’s icy rejection to pay the purchase price of our lives by His blood. He thirsted for the Father to breathe life into us, as His body organs stopped functioning, one by one. The Lord God listened to the praying voices of both Elijah and Jesus (1 Kings 17:22): “O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again.” (1 Kings 17:21):
We revived in resurrection cleansed of our guilty stains of sin! We were delivered to the upper chamber of heaven to sit with Christ at the right hand of His Father. Oh, how the Father’s heart must have been rejoicing to keep His children with Him forever: “See, Your very own Son lives… See, your adopted son lives… See, your adopted daughter lives!” (1 Kings 17:23).
Do not fear: The eternal hope of gospel words of enduring truth
“Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.”3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.” 1 Kings 19:1-3
Elijah faced opposition in the form of a competition against the prophets of Baal to show the overwhelming power of His God. Hundreds of prophets of Baal were shamed in defeat and slaughtered. In retaliation, the evil Jezebel swore to kill Elijah the next day, and a fearful and overwhelmed Elijah ran for his very life.
“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 1 Kings 19:4-7
Just as the widow expected to die, Elijah stopped running and laid down in defeat under the shade of a broom tree: “It's too much, Lord,” he prayed. “Take away my life; I might as well be dead!” (1 Kings 19:4 GNT). We have all no doubt experienced situations (I have!), which appeared to be successful initially but, in the twists and turns of the journey, seem to head back towards a complete downfall. We are tempted to run off the battlefield, beaten back by the setback, with the roar of Satan’s taunts viciously filling our minds.
Does some event come to your mind from work, ministry, or family life? Dear Friend, God comes with such incredible loving-kindness to us at these times. We read of Him touching this dejected but faithful prophet once again and providing Elijah with more sustenance, knowing exactly what he needed at that moment, being food, water, and sleep, and most of all to be touched by God’s heart of uncondemning love.
We also recall we are so deeply loved by our Savior and bridegroom in the good as well as in the despairing times, betrothed to Him forever in righteousness, justice, lovingkindness, and compassion (Hosea 2:19).