Homespun Devotions: "Just Throw it All on Me"

I may be simple-minded. Perhaps I am dense. But sometimes it takes me a long time to truly comprehend the most basic things God wants me to see and understand. Often, it seems to take a grand epiphany for Him to get a point across to me. Then, once I get it, it stays with me forever and becomes something that steadies me in my walk with Him from then on.

One morning, as I was praying earnestly and seeking the Lord over some heavy burdens on my heart, out of the blue, I distinctly heard in my spirit, "Just throw it all on Me." Of course, my mind went straight to the verse above in I Peter 5:7, and I thought it was strange that I heard in my spirit, "Throw it on Me" instead of "Cast it on Me."

I thought, "Is this You, Lord?" Bound and determined to see if it was really God speaking to me, telling me to throw it all on Him, I went and looked up the word "cast" in I Peter 5:7 in the original Greek. My mouth literally dropped open as I read that "cast" means "to throw upon." I could hardly believe my eyes, and I was overwhelmed to know that yes! It was God saying, "Just throw it all on Me."

This may sound elementary, but, wow! It was so powerful for me that God knew that "Cast" and "Throw" are the exact same!😄

You see, I have read I Peter 5:7 for years and never really been able to understand what it means to "Cast all my care upon Him." To me, when I would think of "casting" something on the Lord, it would never be a permanent transaction because when I think of the word "cast," my mind immediately goes to Kevin and me standing on the jetty in Fort Pierce, FL, "casting" our fishing pole lines into the water. Each time we would "cast" our line, we would leave it out there for a little while, then we would reel it back in. We never cast it out, then left it in the sea, and walked away. To me, "Casting" was just not a permanent release.

But throwing? Now, that's a different story. The word throw makes me think of a permanent relocation of the problem. I am no longer holding on to it or the mechanism that reels it back in. When I think of throwing something, I think of an instantaneous and complete transfer from my shoulders onto His. A full release to where I am no longer holding onto any part of the problem, and I have surrendered ownership of it entirely over to Him and His safekeeping. God knew how much I needed to know this. He knew that I could get it if He used the word "throw" instead of "cast!"

It makes me think of the times in the Bible when God's people were facing a particularly daunting, overwhelming situation and someone in the crowd would muster the faith and courage to say, "The battle is the Lord's!" Each and every time someone had the kind of faith to be able to speak those words, God always, without fail, fought the battle for them and won! Let's look at two of these events.

#1. In 2 Chronicles 20:1-30, we read a remarkable story of when Jehoshaphat was in dire straits. The Moabites and Ammonites were coming against him, and there was no human way out. Jehoshaphat called a fast and prayed this prayer, "O LORD God of our fathers, art not Thou God in heaven? And rulest not Thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? And in Thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand Thee? Art not Thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend for ever? And they dwelt therein, and have built Thee a sanctuary therein for Thy name, saying, 'If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in Thy presence, (for Thy name is in this house,) and cry unto Thee in our affliction, then Thou wilt hear and help.' And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom Thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of Thy possession, which Thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt Thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon Thee."

After Jehoshaphat prayed that anguished prayer, this happened

"Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; and he said, 'Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.'"

Oh, when he said that! Things shifted and began to change. A transfer had been made! The battle was no longer Jehoshaphat's. It was GOD's! The following day, Jehoshaphat sent singers out in front of the army, and they sang, "Praise the LORD; for His mercy endureth forever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped." Praise God!

#2. In Samuel 17:1-54, we find the story of David and Goliath. I'm sure we have all heard it countless times, but we can never hear it enough. It would be good for each of us to go back and re-read it from time to time, as it is one of the biggest faith-builders of all time. In response to Goliath's taunts and intimidation, courage rose in David, and he said, "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands." One of the greatest victories ever was accomplished that day because David surrendered that battle to the Lord!

Throwing our burdens on God does not work like a boomerang.. It never ricochets. He always catches it when one of His children throws something on Him, and He absorbs it and begins carrying it, never to be thrown back for us to carry again. Just like our sins are forgiven and were "absorbed" by Him on the cross, He takes on the cares and burdens that we throw on Him. Praise His holy name forever! What a kind, loving Savior! How he loves us!

Now, here's my second thought when He told me to throw it on Him. I literally found myself feeling guilty for burdening Him! Right away, He showed me why. I was born into the McCoy family—some of the most staunchly independent people I've ever known. From a small child, I was taught to pay my own way, carry my own weight, and never to burden anyone else. I remember very few, brief intervals when I was really allowed to feel like a child and the carefree element that comes along with that.

Due to the dynamics of my childhood and formative years, I unknowingly developed a tendency to avoid putting others out. I will go to great lengths to avoid asking for help, driven by a deep-seated concern over burdening others. I really get the phrase, "Learning to lean" because I truly do not lean well, nor do I seem to know how. I try my best not to inconvenience Kevin, Zach, and others, and sometimes I hurt myself in the process, which causes them to feel bad and worry about me.

Sadly, I have developed that same mindset toward God, and when I heard the Lord telling me to throw it on Him, that's where my mind went. I literally said something like, "But, Lord, I hate to burden you with all this. It is so heavy! It feels so disrespectful to 'throw' something on You, and Lord, it's a lot!" I found myself feeling sorry for God and for taking advantage of Him that way!

It was a profound awakening for me to have Him reveal those things to me, and the conviction I felt over the many times I have done this sort of thing, both to Him and to my dear husband, son, and some others, was real and made me feel such remorse. I don't know how to change, but I know He can help me.

This help began the other day when I finally grasped the concept that "throwing" and "casting" are the same thing. This enlightens and opens up, not only I Peter 5:7, but also Psalm 55:22

God has made it abundantly clear multiple times throughout His Word that He wants us to throw our burdens on Him, and He wants to fight for us. He doesn't want us to walk through life encumbered and weighed down by burdens we aren't strong enough to carry, and He doesn't want us to fight battles we aren't strong enough to win on our own. But He will not wrench them from our hands. If we refuse to release them to Him, He will stand aside and allow us to struggle and fall down in defeat.

As a parent, I can imagine how this makes Him feel. Sort of like watching Zach struggle with some tangle or problem as a child, observe him become completely overwhelmed, and yet, see him refuse to allow Kevin and me to reach down and take care of it for him..

Whatever burdens we are carrying or however intense our fight, God's shoulders are broad enough to carry the weight of each one of our problems, and His arms are strong enough to fight every battle.

Jesus said, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Hebrews 4:15,16 says, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."

I pray that whatever you are facing and going through, you will throw every one of your cares on Him, rise up in faith, and say, "The battle is Yours, Lord. Here it is. Take it. I'm throwing it on you. I'm expecting you to fight for me!"

I am praying for each person who will ever read these words. May God be near you and meet your every need.

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