CAST YOUR CARE ON GOD by Ellet Joseph Waggoner

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 9, 1894

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 35.

CAST YOUR CARE ON GOD.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

BY ELDER E. J. WAGGONER.

THE words of inspiration by the apostle Peter are, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." 1 Peter 5:6, 7.

How few there are who do this! Some do not seem to realize that God cares for them. David knew it, for he said by the Spirit, "But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me; thou art my help and my deliverer." Ps. 40:17. And Jesus said: "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore; ye are of more value than many sparrows." Luke 12:6, 7.

God not only knows our need, and cares for us, but he is able to do whatever his love prompts him to do. Happy the man who can say with Job, "I know that thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of thine can be restrained." Job 42:2, Revised Version. Or with Paul, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." 2 Tim. 1:12.

"Casting all your care upon him" means, therefore, to put it upon him, and to leave it there, with the assurance that he will see to it. "Roll thy way upon the Lord. Trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." Ps. 37:5, margin. When we go to a railway station, we deliver our luggage into the hands of a porter, and then go our way, thinking nothing more about it, confident that it will be taken care of. Surely we ought to trust the Lord more than we do a man.

But the trouble with so many is that they deal with the Lord just as they do with the railway porter,—they deliver their luggage—their cares—into his hands, and then after a while they take it from him again. We are to cast our cares on the Lord, and leave them there forever, receiving his peace as our surety, and not to take them again, as the traveler does his luggage. He says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt. 11:28.

In the first book of Samuel we have an instance of this rolling the burden upon the Lord and trusting him. Hannah was greatly troubled. Her childless condition had been a reproach to her. She had suffered hardship because of it. So she prayed to the Lord for a son. Eli, misunderstanding her, had reproved her, and she said: "I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial; for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto." 1 Sam. 1:15, 16. Thus we see how greatly she had been burdened.

"Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace; and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him. And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad." 1 Sam. 1:17, 18.

Young translates the last clause, "And her countenance hath not been sad for it any more." A strictly literal rendering is, "And her face was not to it again." That is, she had thrown her burden upon the Lord, and she left it there, and went her way, thinking no more about it. She did not resolve that she would think no more about it, but her trust in the Lord, that he would bring her desires to pass if according to his will, was so great that she could not worry about the matter any more; and her face, as a natural consequence, ceased to be sad. From the above precepts and example let us learn how to trust God.