A Lesson from Fishing - Encouragement Café - July 10, 2015

A Lesson from Fishing

Café Menu for Friday, July 10, 2015

Today’s Special is:  Casting is NOT a One Time Thing

Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Jill Beran

Main Ingredient:

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

1 Peter 5:7 NIV

Entrée:

It had been a crazy week and a busy Saturday.  Our to-do list was long and my kids weren’t real eager. One was kind of upset, another didn’t feel the best and another compared her work load to everyone else’s.  

As a Mom, my frustration grew as did the awareness of my inability to fix things, make everyone happy and healthy.  We neared bedtime and I found myself in tears… on the eve of the day created to honor Mom’s, I felt like a failure.  My thoughts started to drift and I wondered, ‘If I struggle with 5 kids ages 3 to 12 what will happen when they are 13 to 22?’

Then today’s key verse came to mind.  1 Peter 5:7 tells us,

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

The first word of this command stuck in my head because casting is something my kids had been practicing days ago.  I’m married to a man who loves to fish and our kids enjoy the fun as well.  As I pictured them snapping their pole and letting the line go, I realized I had to do the same.

I didn’t grab a rod and a reel, but a pen and paper and let my thoughts go.  There were things I worried about, habits that needed to change and relationships that needed to be restored.  I addressed things in myself and in ones I love.  I cast off things I could never control.  I shared it all with God.

This little exercise was powerful and when I was done I had another lesson to learn from fishing.  The joy of catching a fish will never happen without first casting the line.  I didn’t catch a whopper, but I did experience the reality of Philippians 4:6-7 (NKJV):

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Friend, when we fish, casting doesn’t guarantee we’ll catch one, but it does give us a chance.  Casting our cares and worries doesn’t mean God will automatically change them, but when we do, He can change our perspective and us!  And that’s better yet!!

Take Out:

Friend, I encourage you to take out a pen and paper so that you can cast your cares as well.  Remember God already knows all about them, but He longs for us to come to Him.  Share your heart, your worries, your fears, your sins… share it all with Him.  Write it down and let it go. 

Dessert:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being our God who hears and sees. I approach Your throne with confidence and cast my cares on You. Help me to let them go and trust You with the results. Lord, You are in control… I am not. May I remember that Your plan is best and Your power is unlimited. I trust You Lord! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

© 2015 by Jill Beran.  All rights reserved.

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