CAST

Well, when I think I’ve written the last post about a single word…He lays a few more on me.  This is like a scavenger hunt!  I have prayed over the years that He would give me words to study and help me figure out why…but He’s never answered that prayer until the last few weeks!  One would expect to search out “big” words like love, grace, peace, salvation, etc…and I have pondered a couple of those…but meanwhile, He is giving me some big little words to dissect and discover!

Today’s word is CAST!  As I dug in the Word, I thought to look up the non-Biblical, “real” definition of this word.  According to the Oxford Dictionary, cast is the act of throwing something forcefully in a specified direction.  So, I see 3 important things in this definition…1.  It is an ACT!  2.  It is done with force.  3.  It isn’t haphazard but intentional, in a specified direction!

So, with all of these words that He is asking me to dig more deeply into, they all seem to be an act, or the result of an action.  When fishermen cast their fishing lines, they don’t just close their eyes, toss it out in the water, and hope to catch the big one!  They look at their pole and line and see where it is, look where they intend the line to land, and whip it forcefully in the direction that they want it to go!

God began to bring verses to my mind…and to my computer screen…as I dug a little deeper.   Proverbs 18:18 explains that casting lots settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart.  1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast all our anxiety on Him because He cares for us.  Psalm 55:22 says to cast our cares (ESV says burdens) on the Lord, and that He will sustain us and never let the righteous be shaken.  (Apparently, I had never seen that “never let the righteous be shaken” part!  That’s a pretty big promise!  I like it!)  2 Corinthians 10:5 says that we are to be casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.  Ecclesiastes 11:10 says to banish anxiety (banish implies permanency!) from your heart and cast off the troubles of the body.

This is NOT a dainty little, insignificant word!  This is powerful!  With this word, we can settle disputes, be free of anxiety, be not shaken, and have the authority to tear down EVERY thing that exalts itself against Christ!  WOW!  BUT…it is intentional!  We have to think about it to do it!  We have to gird our loins with God’s truth.  We have to guard our hearts, control our tongues, love because He first loved us, be on the lookout for the enemy and his tactics, learn to speak truth over ourselves and our families, recognize the lies of the enemy and tell him where to return to!  And we have the power of the Holy Spirit within us, as believers, to do all of these things..if we will but place our trust in Him!  Trust…Hmmm…we’re back to that one, again!

Lord, Jesus, remind us today of the strength we have in you!  You who CAST the enemy himself into the lake of fire will take our burdens, the lies we have come to speak and believe, our guilt, our shame, our condemnation, our fear, our cares, and our sins, and draw us unto yourself, if we will simply ask and trust in you!  Lord, help us desire more of you every single day and to be willing to DO the things which you ask of us!  In Jesus’ name, Amen!