1 Pet 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you,
1 Pet 5:7 Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. [Ps. 55:22.]
The KJV says "He cares for you". He cares for you...and of course me too. Oh if only we could comprehend.....He cares for you. Any doubt about this is the root of unbelief. He cares.
If He did not care, Jesus would not have come. God was not obligated to save us. Quite the opposite, He was quite justified in condemning each one of us, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God did send His only Son, and He did die in our place, because He cares for us all. To doubt that He cares, is to doubt the crucifixion. To doubt the crucifixion on our behalf is to rush headlong down the road to hell.
"But Lahry, you don't know what I'm going through". OOOOOoooooohhhhhhh yes I do. I've been through the darkest night. I've been through some mighty fierce storms, and He has delived me out of them all, whether I believed He cared or not. He cares. He cares. Glory to God almighty, He cares.
The disciples woke Jesus up during the midst of the storm crying "Lord, we perish". Did they believe He cared? Well...yea. But they were beginning to doubt. Jesus the man must have wondered..."don't you know how much I've cared for you?" "If I love you as I said I have, do you think I'd let you drown, even though the storm rages?" He cared, even in their unbelief.
Your husband may have run off with the associate pastor......He cares. Your child may have come to a tragic and sudden death....He cares. The doctor may have said, "it's cancer". He cares.
Beloved, there is not a moment, that God does not care, watchfully over each one of us. He promised through Paul that all things would eventually work for our good, did He not? He cares.
Not many months ago, I was homeless. I was between jobs, we could no longer pay rent. It looked hopeless. We stayed with some church people, but there were not but one or two that cared enough to take us in. One night we spent what precious money we had on a motel, not even my family would take us in. He was there all the time.
Today, my wife and I manage a retirement home, a job given to us by the One Who cares. We live here, eat here. They even pay us very well. We only have to pay for our car note and insurance. That's it. This place is like a luxury hotel inside. I'm typing this message on a computer that I did not pay for. I don't have to comute to work, I live where I work. I dont' have to worry about eating out for lunch, I'm served a hotlunch everyday in a beautiful dinning room; breakfast and dinner too, 7 days a week. The price of gas has gone through the roof, I'm not driving at all most days. We don't buy groceries. All utilities are paid. God just opened the door, and we walked in. Why? He cares. I certainly didn't do anything to deserve this. Neither did my wife, that I know of anyway. He cares. "Why me God?" He cares. While I was yet homeless, He cares. While I was yet a sinner, He died for me...and for you. He cares. If He was willing to do that, and He surely was, will He not give unto you all things? Yes He will. But we must believe that He cares. He will give us ample opportunity and let the storms rage sometime. He will allow life to go far beyond our own understanding so that we have nothing left to hold on too but Him. Why? He wants us to know that He is worthy of our trust, our hope, and our love. He cares.
If at this point, you are still doubting, I want you to do yourself a favor. Go rent a copy of the "Passion". Sit down with God prayerfully and watch it. Pay close attention to each one of those stripes. They are stripes we all deserved.. you and me, all of us. He took our place. Why? He cares. As the movie concludes ask yourself, "can there be any doubt that He cares"?
"But Lahry, I'm not worthy". That's right. Neither am I. But it's not about you or I, it's all about Jesus. He gave us His worthiness, His righteousness, His purity, His Holiness, so that when we stand before the worthy, holy, righteous and pure God, we will indeed stand. Not on our works or earned goodness, but on the One, the Holy One, the Anointed One Who died for us....on His goodness we will indeed stand. He cares.
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