Counselor's Corner: What Does It mean to Cast Your Care on the Lord?

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 55:22

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

What exactly does it mean to cast your burden on the Lord?

Burdens make you feel heavy, weighted-down, and like you are the one who has to figure out how to solve the problem. When you feel burdened God promises that if you cast your care upon Him; He will sustain you.

→To cast means to throw something forcefully in a specified direction, or to throw off or away.

1.      Talk to God about your concerns. Be open and honest about what is concerning you or causing your anxiety. Don’t pretend you don’t have concerns and that everything is fine. Come before the Lord and tell Him.

2.      Sit quietly before God and allow Him the opportunity to speak to you about what is concerning you.

3.      Visualize yourself handing over to Jesus the person or situation that is concerning you. Ask God to take your concerns as you place them in His hands.

4.      Pray whatever is concerning you that God intervenes and that the plans of the enemy would come to a halt in the name of Jesus.

5.      Speak out loud scriptures daily over your life, and the situations that concern you.

6.      The most difficult part-after you have given your burdens to the Lord it is time to get up and keep moving. Don’t focus all day and night on what burdens you, if you constantly carry your burdens you will end-up physically, mentally and spiritually drained.

7.      Have a set time during the day, preferably first thing in the morning where you cast your burdens on the Lord and then leave it for the day. Sometimes, our burdens do crop up during the day even after giving them to the Lord. When this happens, don’t sit around and entertain all the possibilities of what could go wrong and what could happen. Stop and give your concerns back to the Lord. If you are undergoing difficult circumstances you may have to do this several times a day. The key to leaving your concerns with God is to not dwell, analyze and worry for hours a day. You could have intrusive thoughts that can be common if you have endured traumatic or difficult situations. The more you practice leaving your burdens with Jesus, the less intrusive thoughts you will have.

8.      The most important key in casting your burdens on the Lord is trusting God with His timing and His outcomes for what you are concerned about. Waiting patiently and expectedly that God has heard your cries and He will come through. As you are waiting on God, DON’T STEP IN AND TAKE OVER! If you get impatient as you wait for God to make a way, keep giving Him your burdens. Tell God, “I can’t carry _____________ (whatever your burden is) any longer, please take care of this for me.”

9.      Believe in your heart that God does care about you and your troubling situation. God’s Word says to cast your anxieties on Him because He cares for us.

10.  Humble yourself before God. Admit to God that you are not capable or strong enough to deal with your burdens.

11.  After casting your burdens on the Lord, you will be able to enter His rest and you will feel light and your load will not feel heavy any longer. The key to Divine rest and a light load is to not hold onto what is burdening you and not to doubt that God has heard your cries for help. Allow God to work, STEP OUT AND LET GOD STEP IN! Only then you experience God’s rest. There are some things that you have to let go of and let God take full control. It is okay to daily give your concerns to God until there is complete victory, and thank God for the victory that is coming.

→Be aware when you are feeling overly concerned in any area of your life, stop and pray immediately and ask God to intervene. You will know you are overly concerned when you are thinking constantly about a troubling situation, worrying, fretting, and figuring out what you can do to.

→Casting your burdens on the Lord usually is not a one-time event but can be daily if you have many burdens that you carry. The more you practice casting your burdens on the Lord, you may notice less tension, stress, and anxiety in your life.

Word of Encouragement: Counselor’s Corner How to Accept Your Life Just the Way It Is

Have you ever told yourself, “Life is not fair?” Have you struggled with the reality of the way your life has turned out? Did you have different dreams and hopes for your life?

One of the best ways to deal with the unfairness of life is acceptance-accepting that this is how things are and how you can find ways around it to thrive better. You have to learn how to navigate your life differently. If what you are doing is not working, such as, hoping and wishing things were different in your life; you need to change the direction in your thinking and responses to these adverse events in your life. Acceptance may seem harsh, but living in the cycle of continual dashed hopes is exhausting. Your life plan will not look like everyone else’s life plan. Stop comparing what other people have and you don’t.

Living in a continually state of surrender, and letting go of control can be a challenge; especially if life has not quite worked out the way you thought it would. You can try and control your environment, other people, but you will end-up frustrated. Letting go of things that are out of your control is a key step to acceptance.

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

Marin Luther King, Jr.

Focus on you. It is not your job to fix everyone else’s drama. Accept the fact that some people may not want to change, and you have to accept this reality. You may need to accept that some people are not good for you, and learn to release them fully into God’s care.

Learning to let go of things that are not in your best interest can ease stress and lift your mood. Trying to change people or continually trying to fix them, will cause you to live in a state on continually unrest.

When you begin to ACCEPT your life as it is there will be benefits. Does this mean you should stop praying, believing, and hoping? Absolutely not! However, you may need to step into the reality of how things are right now, but always keep the door of hope open. If you are living in a state of looking at others’ lives wanting what they have, or wanting a different life; then you are in jeopardy of discontentment. Acceptance of your lot in life can bring less stress, you will be able to let go of past trauma, your mood will improve, your sleep will be better, you will be more content, depression will decrease or maybe even completely lift, and you will feel more control over your life.

When you have things in your life that linger or that bother you daily, it is time for a change. Many people linger on about things that are out of their control, this can bring stress, depression, and anxiety. Learning to count your blessings every day is a start to accepting your life. In other words, what is right in your life? REFOCUS. Instead of reflecting on what you do not have, start choosing to see what you do have. Keep your mind off the situations in your life that cause you the most depression and anxiety. Instead cast your cares on God (1 Peter 5:7). Cast your cares, and then go do something else, don’t stew over them over and over.

Not that I am speaking in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. Philippians 4:11

And He said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:15

What are some things that you may need to let go of?