Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 170

June 21;   I Peter 5:7;   227/260(I);   ‘Casting Your Cares on Him’

1 Peter 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

What a wonderful verse.  How many truly do this?  The Word of God is truth, so it is possible to cast all of your cares on the Lord.  We live in a stress filled world, so we all have cares, things that concern us.  Having cares is a given, what we do with those cares is a decision we make.  This verse is only possible for those who take the time to know the Lord through the Word of God and fellowship with Him in prayer.  How close you walk with Jesus is a decision you have to make for yourself.   The Bible tells us over and over that we are loved by God the Father and that He will bless you and meet every need you have.  If you never take time, by diligence in the Word and prayer to get to know the Lord, the cares of this life can overwhelm you.  As you come to know Him, and you can know Him as intimately as you choose to, you believe that since He loves you as much as He does, you can trust Him to meet every need you and your loved ones have.   The devil, by thoughts, will do all that he can to put fear and dread in you for things yet to happen.  Without that solid fellowship with the Lord, standing against those fearful thoughts is extremely difficult.  We are not exhorted to read and study the Word of for another thing to do.  We are not encouraged to fellowship with the Lord in prayer to take up more of our time.  The Lord knows that without the solid foundation of the Word and prayer, worry will overwhelm you.  The Lord loves you so much and has made provision to be there in good times and bad.  A close walk with the Lord stops fears, knowing how much he cares. This is the only thing that can