As the headline suggests it has been a week of action here at “Becoming Today”. Casting, releasing, receiving. All actions, occurring in the active tense, requiring us to be Actively Active in decisions, deeds, and dedication. Let’s look back, review and repeat as our next steps along this shared path.
A key element of being “Becoming” is living a righteous life.
To do so requires we cast all of our cares upon God.
Ensuring that we are the same page let’s explore some shared definitions.
Righteous living on our path to “Becoming” can literally be defined as being “right especially in a moral way”. Being righteous means doing the right thing at all times not only for yourself, but also for others.
Moving forward then let’s establish that to “cast” literally means to “throw.” When you throw something to someone, you are releasing it, trusting they’ll catch it and handle it appropriately. So whether it’s tossing the car keys or passing a basketball, it’s the same analogy as releasing your cares to God. You are putting the responsibilities for them in His court.
So what exactly are your cares? They are different for each and every one of us, but can generally be understood as our personal fears, worries, doubts, anxieties, or troubles.
By handing them off to the Lord we are demonstrating trust in God that He is able and willing to deal with our concerns.
Inasmuch as Scripture Instructs us to cast our cares, and Jesus himself told people not to worry. Not to show obedience in this matter, would be the opposite of righteous living. It shows not only a lack of obedience but can be described as being dishonorable to God.
Why? Because if we do not release the anxieties for Him to handle and try to battle them alone, we are trying to do His job. Attempting to take His burdens upon our shoulders will crush us. However if we follow the advice of the Apostle Peter that weight can be immediately lifted.
Peter’s advice is to cast all our cares upon God.
To cast your cares upon God is truly an accountable measurable leap of faith. I have never said it would be easy nonetheless it is required for our shared paths.
Let’s get started the first step to releasing your anxiety is, stopping it before it starts.
As Joyce Meyer has taught for so many years ( so many in fact she began in the last century, LOL) much of our troubles is a result of the Battlefield of the Mind.
“One thing the Lord spoke to my heart when He began to teach me about the battlefield of the mind became a major turning point for me.
He said, ‘Think about what you’re thinking about.’
As I began to do so, it was not long before I began to see why I was having so much trouble in my life.”
Joyce Meyer in “Battlefield of the Mind”
The mind is where the battle between worry and peace fear and faith, you and the enemy takes place.
Whatever you allow to hold your thought, will rule your life.That’s why, in order to cast your cares, you must stop worrying before those concerns can start to take control.
When you first try to change this behavior it will seem like you’re having troublesome thoughts every minute. Acknowledge them. Then to help you let go, replace them with some encouraging words. Memorize or read scriptures that reinforce the messages you want to be striving for. Put them on index cards, in your journal, on the refrigerator, keep a file on your phone and have them always at the ready for your times of battle.
Summing up today, we can break down casting our cares into three small, simple actions. First of all, say them. Cry out, yes outloud. Release the struggles of your mind, and burdens of your heart in prayer. Then search for your answers. Scour those Scripturesso you can begin to focus on truth and release the lies. Yes that does include those lies you tell yourself. Then thirdly, SING!
“My tongue will sing of your word, for all your commandments are right.” Psalm 119-:172
So far this week our conversations have centered on releasing our cares. As we’ve established the first step is quite simply to stop worrying.
Well have you? Why not? We’ve all heard the scripture from 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT):
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”
Give it all to God. So easy that’s what causes all the confusion.
How do you simply just give up your concerns? Just stop worrying ?
Ask God and then have the patience to wait for His answer.
Let’s do the work. Answer the following questions, truthfully and we will then formulate your own individual prayer to lighten your load, your mind, your heart and your Spirit.
How will you Call on Him? When will you Call on Him? Where will you Call on Him?
Do you Trust Him? Why? How will you show that you Trust Him?
When will you Give it to Him? How will you Give it to Him? Why will you Give it to Him?
When will you Rest in Him? Why aren’t you already?
Take time to reflect,pray and meditate on these questions. I’ve included the blank lines so you can print this out as a worksheet if you like.
Once you have answered truthfully, begin to notice the commonalities in some of your responses. Combine, revise edit and in the space below formulate your own “Casting Plan”.
Let’s do the work. Answer the following questions, truthfully and we will then formulate your own individual prayer to lighten your load, your mind, your heart and your Spirit.
- How will you Call on Him? When will you Call on Him? Where will you Call on Him?
- Do you Trust Him? Why? How will you show that you Trust Him?
- When will you Give it to Him? How will you Give it to Him? Why will you Give it to Him?
- When will you Rest in Him? Why aren’t you already?
You have your lessons. You have your prayer. Now put your testament into action. Affirm yourself, your belief, your Faith, your Hope, your Trust and your God, by signing and dating this oath:
Heavenly Father,__________________________… in Jesus’ name. Amen.
You have your lessons. You have your prayer. Now put your testament into action. Affirm yourself, your belief, your Faith, your Hope, your Trust and your God, by signing and dating this oath:
I, ________________________, do hereby affirm my above stated intentions as boldly made declarations of my Faith, Belief in and Love for the Lord. This pledge is respectfully submitted for your and mine consideration; however those thought processes defer to and are secondary to the blind obedience I submit to God. I consider this a binding agreement between the Lord and myself, fully accepting all responsibility for co-creating Truth from this covenant.
Signature Date
Lightening our load, releasing our burdens, freeing ourselves to seek our destiny is all a part of being “Becoming”. Yesterday I outlined a strategy for you to develop your own ‘casting plan’.
None of us need to weigh ourselves down with emotional baggage. We don’t have to carry the burden of our worries. Nor must we submit to the bondage of fear, self doubt or loathing.
After several days of intense study on casting our cares, we’ve learned that God is willing to release us from all of it. By taking all of our anxiety and concerns upon Himself.
So what exactly are your cares? They are different for each and every one of us, but can generally be understood as our personal fears, worries, doubts, anxieties, or troubles.
By handing them off to the Lord we are demonstrating trust in God that He is able and willing to deal with our concerns.
I hear some of you saying something similar to ( if not exactly as) ‘easier said, than done’. True but “Becoming” as we have well established by now involves work. Sometimes arduous labor. Making deep commitments and then elevating that dedication to the level of covenants.
Now that you have your prayer, use it. Read it, memorize it, call out morning, non and night. If not, see yesterday’s post. So together we can move forward with the following question:
Have you ever felt weighed down by your past?
Of course you have. We all have. The good news is we don’t have to keep that weight.
If your past is holding you back from co-creating a life you truly love. Let it go. The past not your dreams and desires. By learning how to release the past hurts, shame, guilt, grief or even times of despair, you are helping to rescue yourself from a life of resentment, or a false attitude that you really don’t deserve anything better.
These kinds of pain can be difficult to release. Nonetheless it can be done. While we can never fully take away what happened, we can choose to survive and go beyond by thriving. Life is far less about what has happened to you, it is principally about how you decide to respond to it.
You can not create a state of “Becoming”, if you aren’t willing to let the former or current realities go. Are you ready to do some releasing?
God is willing to release us from all of it. By taking all of our anxiety and concerns upon Himself.
Yesterday we touched upon releasing. Giving ourselves the freedom, proper state of mind, and developing an attitude designed for change and growth.
Key to that is the concept of forgiving and forgetting. This is a vital part of “Becoming”. Not only forgiving others for perceived wrongs, and asking for forgiveness from those you may have hurt but also forgiving yourself.
It is then, and only then, that you can let go of anger, guilt, shame, or any other feeling limiting your growth. Let it go. Face forward, look upward and you get busy moving on.
To let go of past hurts, you need to make the conscious decision to take control of the situation. However, this can take time and practice. Be kind to yourself as your practice refocusing how you see the situation, and celebrate the small victories you have.
Now that you have had some time to reflect and release we’ll transform our focus toward receiving.
Receiving can also be described as:
accepting
acquiring
collecting
drawing
earning
gathering
getting
inheriting
making
bringing in
The commonality between all the descriptions is that you are being rewarded.
Opening ourselves to receiving is allowing for promises to be delivered, rewards accepted and earning a greater sense of self and “Becoming”.
Of course to strengthen our abilities to receive, we also need to look at giving and creating. One of the most important areas to consider these concepts involves love, The ability to accept and love ourselves, the willingness to share and give love to others and the acknowledgement of God’s love for all.
In order to receive more love, the first step is to create space for it.
Opening yourself to receiving love, blessings and abundance may not come naturally to you. It did not for me. I had to unlearn all I was wrongly taught about building walls and trusting no one.
However as you begin to let those walls come crumbling, tumbling down, you will develop confidence and foster self esteem. Those in turn will strike a responsive chord in others allowing for trust and openness; both seeds of love.
It might take you a while. Be patient with yourself, and the easier the process of your “Becoming” will become.
Becoming Today with Rochelle Jeanette 